Sin Volume 16 Issue 9 by Student Independent News

INSIDE FREE STUDENT NEWSPAPER | VOL 16, ISSUE 9 | 09 FEB 2015

NEWS

Shave or Dye or ‘Oh My’ 2

Students’ Union lends its support to campaign for same-sex marriage

LIFESTYLE

the bill would “try to cut us down” but urged everyone to stay strong and not to give in and to “stand together”. She said that people would attack same sex marriage, accusing it of being a gateway to “marrying our pets or the pole in the garden” and adding that no one had married their pets in other jurisdictions where they had marriage equality. NUI Galway Students’ Union Equality Officer Rebecca Melvin highlighted another difficulty saying that May is a very difficult time for students as it is exam time. But she hopes that students will overcome any challenges to get to the ballot box, where they plan to make “grá the law”. “In many years to come we will look back at this referendum and I myself would like to think I contributed to it to the best of my ability,” she said.

ENTERTAINMENT

to get on the register so that they can vote for Marriage Equality next year.” However he warned against the threat of complacency, saying it was the biggest threat to the campaign for marriage equality; “There is an assumption that because opinion polls show strong support for the Yes side, that the referendum will pass. However, it will only pass if those who support Marriage Equality are on the register and go to the polling station to vote.” But like all campaigns, there will be difficulties along the way according to Annie Hoey, USI Vice President for Equality and Citizenship, who warned students involved in the campaign for same sex marriage that it may take its toll. She said that people’s “sense of self ” could be attacked as opponents of

SPORT

Many politicians have praised the movement, including Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer in Cork, and labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin from the Dublin North–Central constituency. Both have said that the movement is very important, saying that “hand of history” is balancing strongly with the student population of Ireland, and the votes of students from colleges, universities and Institutes of Technology throughout the country will play a crucial role in deciding the vote. “Over the last month the Union of Students in Ireland has worked very hard to ensure that the voice of students and young people can be heard in next spring’s Marriage Equality referendum,” said Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, praising USI on its “proactive campaign to highlight the need for students

FINAL WORD

The Students’ Union has launched a taskforce, which aims to run events and campaigns in support of same sex marriage ahead of the marriage equality referendum, which will take place this May. The task force is to consist of five members; two Students’ Union executive committee members, two class representatives, and one GiG Soc representative. The taskforce was established in lieu of the upcoming referendum, and the Students’ Union decision (which was voted on and passed last year) to support the marriage equality bill. The taskforce looks to run events and campaigns as the vote draws closer. Among the many aims of the taskforce are to show students the importance of voting yes, and voting for the bill. The movement is gathering momentum, especially with social networks, with the hashtag #MakeGráTheLaw. The #MakeGráTheLaw c a m p a i g n e n c o u ra g e s students to consider why they’re voting yes in the referendum and took place on Wednesday 4 February in NUI Galway. There was also a banner which on which students wrote their reason for why they are voting YES. The Students’ Union has said that they believe, like many others that marriage is a basic human right, not a heterosexual privilege. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is also supporting the movement. The president of the USI, Laura Harmon has said that the campaign is not about equality but about love.

VALENTINE'S

By Cathal Kelly

FEATURES

#MakeGráTheLaw

Work begins on 30 million euro Biology Building

Female appointed chair of equality Task Force

#NOTHINGTOHIDE: UCD Student starts campaign for mental illness

Talk about Sexual Abuse

THIS WEEK’S DEBATE: Should TDs be receiving 7 expenses on top of their salaries? Romance your way to Success

Things you love more than your other half

Dining In for Valentine’s Day

Bearded Backpacker

Style Spotter

Retro Rewind

McCartney brings a little extra magic to Kanye’s new tunes

Uptown Special: 26 Funking things up

Galway make impressive start to league campaign

An interview with Alex Byrne

Diary of the Smokey’s Pigeon

College Insider

2 NEWS

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Shave or Dye or ‘Oh My’ Many people have been affected in some way by cancer, either directly or through a loved one. This disease is only second to blood diseases as a cause of death in Ireland. Statistics from the Irish Cancer Registry suggest that the most common forms

of cancer in this country include lung cancer with 1, 800 deaths during 20102012, colorectal (990 deaths in the same period), breast (680 deaths), prostate (550 deaths) and pancreatic cancer (490 deaths). At the same time survival rates have improved for

most types of cancer due in part to earlier detection but also due to better treatments being developed. More people are now living with cancer, for example of all the patients diagnosed with invasive cancer during 1994-2012 (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer),

approximately 122,500 were still alive at the end of 2012. Of these, almost 94,000 had survived ten years or more since their diagnosis. The growing population of cancer survivors has implications for health service provision in the decades ahead. According to Dr Paul Donnellan of UCHG and the Galway Clinic; “In the west of Ireland we have more than our fair share of cancer and there are difficulties with delivery of good cancer care in the West including patient demographics, diverse geographical spread, and poor transport and medical infrastructure.” However there are a number of charities doing excellent work to redress this situation and a lot of research being carried out at NUI Galway on understanding and developing treatments against this disease. To increase awareness of this disease, the work of these excellent charities and the novel research being

varied out on their own doorstep, staff and students of NUI Galway have come together to organize a major outreach event. O n 16 Febr uar y w e welcome members of the public to join us on campus for a special choral concert featuring the St Nicholas Choirs, staff and student choirs and the NUI Galway Orchestra. On the 17th we have a whole day of events open to the public including a ‘shave

or dye or Oh My’ event and an evening of lectures given by our cancer researchers. All events are free but we ask the public to be generous and make what donations each can afford. Our supported charities are the Irish Cancer Society, Cancer Care West, The National Breast Cancer Research Institute and the Galway Hospice. All monies will go directly to the charities. Please visit our facebook page for more information.

Buon Appetito! Corrib Village Opens New Shop Work begins on 30 million Corrib Village officially opened its new shop/deli/ café on Monday 26 January. Operating under the franchise ‘Day-Today’, the new store supplies a broad and varied range of grocery products, including a selection of hot food. The official opening was attended by General Manager of Corrib Village, Karl Reinhardt, and student resident and Voice of Ireland star, Laura Enright,

who was on hand to officially launch the new store and take part in the ribbon cutting. As part of the event, students were invited to twe et a selfie with ‘the pizza guy’ using #DayTodayCorrib and by doing so, got to enjoy free pizza and were also entered into a hamper prize-draw. In addition, attendees enjoyed fantastic live music, courtesy of Laura Enright and Grace O’Donnell.

Pictured above from left to right is Karl Reinhardt (General Manager), Karen Hughes (Marketing/ Sales Executive), Laura Enright (Resident and Voice of Ireland Star) and ‘the pizza guy’

Situated in the North Campus, in the heart of Corrib Village, Day-Today Shop/ Deli/Café supplies a wide range of products including dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen foods, meat products, tea/coffee, toiletries and more. In addition, a selection of salads, sandwiches and hot food such as soup and pizza are available at the deli coun-

ter. The newly refurbished shop also boasts a bright and spacious 40-seat café overlooking landscaped grounds, ideal for students and staff alike. Customers can expect great offers at Day-Today Corrib Village and loyalty cards are now available in store. The shop’s opening hours are Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 10:00pm, Friday: 8:30am to 3:00pm and Sunday: 5:00pm to 10:00pm.

The facilities available in the shop

euro Biology Building By Ciara Treacy Construction work has begun on the Human Biology Building at NUI Galway, which will cost in excess of €30 million. The Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology and Therapeutics disciplines will be located within the building, situated adjacent to Áras na Mac Léinn and Áras Uí Chathail. Teaching and research facilities will include undergraduate teaching laboratories, research laboratories, offices, open plan write-up spaces, meeting rooms and tiered lecture theatres. Within a research-led environment, the facilities will enable Medical and Health Science students to receive core preclinical curricula. Core curricula will also be delivered to Science, Biomedical Science and Engineering students. A venue will be provided for discipline specific training at 3rd and 4th Level.

Approximately one-third of funding for the project will be sourced from the public exchequer, including €7 million recently announced in Budget 2015. The remaining two-thirds will come from University sources. The five-storey development will have a roof level plant enclosure and a gross floor area of 8,200m². The site previously held the former National Diagnostics Centre. Theo Cullinane of BAM Building Ltd. signed the construction contract with Dr James Browne, with the project expected to last 19 months. It will create up to 200 construction jobs. The Design Team for the project comprises of Project Management PM Group, Architects Scott Tallon Walker, Buildings Services Engineers BDP, Civil/Structural Engineers O’Connor Sutton Cronin and Quantity Surveyors & Cost Control AECOM.

NEWS 3

February 09 2015

Have you visited sin.ie yet?

The Look of Love By Jessica Thompson Valentine’s Day is one of those days that people seem to either love or hate. I personally love it. Yes, love should be celebrated every day of the year, and all that jazz. But isn’t it nice to be able to go all out and have a day where you take time off, forget everything and just enjoy each other’s company? This issue is perfect for anyone looking for some inspiration for Valentine’s Day, though there’s plenty to keep the haters going too. In this issue, we have articles that deal with Valentine’s Day for the ladies, and also what men want this Val-

entine’s Day, because this Hallmark is often said to be all about the ladies, right? We also have articles on why Valentine’s Day should be abolished (if you’re into that), the worst first dates ever, things you love more than your other half, and a whole list of events that will be on for SHAG week. My personal favourite is a piece called ‘Love Story’, in

32 pages once a fortnight simply isn’t enough when it comes to covering all the great stories on campus and entertaining our readers every day. This year, we’ll be ensuring our website is constantly updated with great news stories, opinion pieces, fashion, sport and much more. Visit our website at www.sin.ie or simply scan the QR code. which a few sinners tell the story of how they met their other halves. The story of how I met the love of my life is also in there. But we have plenty of non-Valentine’s Day stuff too, so be sure to flick to your favourite section to see what this issue has in store for you.

Editor in Chief: Jessica Thompson editor@sin.ie Layout: Shannon Reeves | contact via Ed. NEWS Ciara Treacy | localnews.sined@gmail.com Chelsea Tabert | nationalnews.sined@gmail.com FEATURES Eoin Molloy | opinion.sined@gmail.com Áine O’Donnell | features.sined@gmail.com LIFESTYLE Jenna Hodgins | fashion.sined@gmail.com

Sadly, we’ll be gone for a couple of weeks, but we’ll be back at the beginning of March with our Students’ Union Elections Special. Until then, happy reading!

Jess @Jess__Thompson

WEB EDITOR John Brennan | web.sined@gmail.com

Get in touch with Sin:

Email: Facebook: Twitter:

editor@sin.ie Sin Newspaper NUI Galway @Sin_News

Send us your tweets and we may publish them in future issues of Sin.

The Students’ Union was spreading the love all over campus last week with their #MakeGráTheLaw campaign.

Suzanne Jackson of SoSueMe.ie came to campus last week to give a talk on blogging. Photos by ScoobyPhoto.com.

4 NEWS

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Female appointed chair of equality Task Force By Ciara Treacy NUI Galway has appointed Dr Jane Grimson as Chair of the Task Force set up to advise the university on its policies, procedures and a range of initiatives related to achieving gender equality. This announcement was made following a meeting of Údarás na hOllscoile (the university’s Governing Authority) on 30 January. The establishment of the Task Force had been agreed upon by the Governing Authority following a finding of gender discrimination against Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington by the Equality Tribunal. Professor Grimson is a former Dean of Engineering and was involved in the establishment of the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research in Trinity College. She is currently chair of the steering committee for the College’s application for an Athena Swan award.

Speaking about the appointment, NUI Galway President Dr James Browne said “this marks a milestone for the University in tackling gender inequality.” The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) expressed concern about the announcement. Joan Donegan, Deputy General Secretary of IFUT, said: “The announcement today of a Chairperson of the Task Force is welcome in principle, but the process of selection has clearly taken some time and was undertaken without reference whatever [sic] to staff in the college or their representatives. “Today’s announcement shows a continued lack of transparency by NUIG [sic] on women’s participation in the university.” Those in attendance at the meeting were met by a student demonstration which took place outside the Aula Maxima on campus. Protestors campaigned for the Governing Authority to

promote the five female lecturers currently pursuing a legal case on the grounds of gender discrimination by NUI Galway. Dr Sheehy Skeffington was in attendance at the protest and raised concern about the lack of “concrete action” taken by the university in relation to the issue. The website for the campaign ‘Micheline’s Three Conditions’ read: “Nevertheless, there is hope that Professor Grimson will rigorously and independently carry out her role and step out of the domineering shadows of those who appointed her.” During the meeting the Governing Authority noted the Equality Tribunal’s decision to reject what was described as a “number of very sweeping generalisations” made about gender practices within the university. These include statements that the number of women at senior lectureship means the University is discriminatory and engages in institutional discrim-

ination, that women do more teaching than men, that leadership positions are appointed on the basis of a ‘nod and a wink’ amongst male academics, and that women care more about student welfare than men. “We are simply setting the record straight. My concern is that we have been misrepresented”, said Dr Browne following the meeting. Chair of the Governing Authority, Judge Catherine McGuinness, said the problem of gender inequality was not exclusive to the Higher Education sector: “It is a global challenge, as prevalent in the boardroom as it is in the lecture hall. “I’m coming out of a profession which for many years women had no place at all in, and that has managed to move over recent years to females accounting for 40 per cent of the Irish judiciary. It shows it is possible to do these things.” NUI Galway has written to the Irish University Association and the Higher Education Authority to request an Equality Review of the entire Higher Education sector. The University also aims to develop a programme of gender equality initiatives through the international Athena Swan programme. Dr Browne said he hopes the Task Force can lead the university in achieving these targets.

“I believe we have given them a remit that is completely open and we will ask them to consider what should be done in the short, medium and long term to address the issue. “You may not be aware of the fact that this is the only university and only organisation in the country to bring in affirmative action in terms of gender issues. Before this became an issue publicly, we recognised we had a problem and went through a very rigorous assessment of what we could do.” G e n d e r t ra i n i ng wa s provided following the recommendations of the Tribunal through a series of seminars that all members of the promotion board had to attend. A third of the most recent promotional outlets were filled by females. “It’s not ideal, but a significant improvement. It was a brave action we took and I think that’s a statement to our commitment to equality. We have a long way to go, as does all of society. “Out of the senior lecturer positions, approximately 21 per cent are female. That is disgraceful, we have to get that at some time towards 50/50 which is a very difficult target.” It was confirmed that the Task Force will not be representational.

“It will be independent as our intention is to get the best advice we can from people with expertise. However that doesn’t stop unions or anyone else coming to talk to them and expressing their point of view.” He also discussed the case of the five lecturers who claim they were discriminated against in the 2013/2014 round of promotions. “The Senior Council advice on the matter could not be clearer; the case of Sheehy Skeffington was personal to her and it’s not a class action here. There is no basis for us to consider anybody else.” Neither I nor Údarás can promote anybody we like; that would be tyranny frankly. We are prisoners of process.” Dr Browne said he had a cordial meeting with the women before Christmas and discussed the possibility of a compromise. “I would love to resolve it amicably. Am I hopeful? It depends, if it a promotion it is very difficult to see. Whatever way it pans out, the university holds those colleagues in good standing and will continue to do so.” The Governing Authority also confirmed it has closed all 17 remaining appeals lodged over the 2013/2014 round of promotions. Twenty appeals had been submitted overall and the remaining three were promoted last month after a number of scoring errors.

NUI Galway reasearchers unlock secrets to the Brain By John Brennan An international study, which included researchers from NUI Galway, has identified significant genetic factors that influence the size of structures within the brain. NUI Galway Professor of Psychology, Professor Gary Donohoe, led the Irish contribution to the study. The study involved a consortium of almost 300 scientists from 193 institutes across the globe - including NUI Galway. The study looked at the regions of the brain that are involved in some basic functions such as memory, movement, learning and motivation. Abnormalities in these regions are generally linked with neurological and mental health disorders. The study identified five genetic variants that influence the size of structures within the brain.

It is hoped these new insights may help scientists better understand disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Professor Donohoe spoke candidly: “for years, scientists have been fascinated by the development of different brain structures and how this changes in brain-based disorders. “We have found, for example, one gene variant that affects the size of the Putamen, a region near the centre of the brain which resembles the stone in the middle of a fruit.” He went on to explain what this meant “the Putamen is partly responsible for movement and learning, and is implicated in Parkinson’s disease. This finding opens up new avenues for research in this disease by giving new clues about the biological mechanisms involved. “These insights are important both to understanding normal human development

and to understanding the basis of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.” Given the international scale of the study, the findings are an important step into unravelling quandaries relating to neuroscience. Studies like this go a long way to helping developing new and improved treatments. The research, in an Irish sense, was in part funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the Health Research Board in Ireland. The study involved collaboration between researchers at NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin amongst a host of international institutions. The consortium, known as the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis), shared results from analyses of genetic data and MRI scans from more than 30,000 individuals worldwide.

NEWS 5

February 09 2015

#NothingToHide: UCD Student starts campaign for mental illness By Davide Smith A new campaign called Cashface, founded by UCD student Pat Mc Keown aims to chane the face of mental health by encouraging people to have #NothingToHide when it comes to struggles with mental illness. Cashface approaches a very serious topic in an open, lighthearted manner. Mental Health Ireland defines mental illness as the

experiencing of severe and distressing psychological symptoms to the extent that normal functioning is seriously impaired. Pat began raising awareness through Cashface in 2014. The initial premise behind Cashface was a simple one. Pat encouraged his friends and family to change their social media profile pictures to a photo of themselves doing the ‘cashface’ (as modelled perfectly by the Notorious Conor McGregor alongside Pat), with

the overlay #NothingToHide. The aim of this was to raise awareness for mental health issues and to popularise Cashface’s philosophy of having nothing to hide. It worked. People began asking Pat about the Cashface pose and what it meant, and Pat was encouraged by the positive feedback the campaign received. According to a study conducted in October 2013, by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ire-

land (RCSI), as many as one in five Irish youths were suffering from mental illness. This suggested that Irish youths may have higher rates of mental illness than their European counterparts. Fast forward to 2015, and whilst Cashface still encourages social media users to change their profile picture, this year is also about Cashface stories, personal mental health stories with a photo of the individual doing Cashface attached.

Pat himself began the trend by writing a personal, moving piece about his own struggles with mental health, and was overwhelmed with the feedback and support it garnered. February is set to be a big month for Cashface. What can you as a member of the public do to help? You could start by changing your profile picture to one of your-

self doing Cashface with the overlay #NothingToHide for February. If you have a Cashface story you would like to share get in touch with cashfacenothingtohide@gmail.com or Campus.ie . Or you can simply start sharing the philosophy of having #NothingToHide when it comes to mental health issues. Thanks to Campus.ie for sharing this story.

NUI Galway Conference on Legal Rights of Older People By John Brennan NUI Galway hosted a one day conference entitled “Law and the Older Person” on Saturday 24 January. The conference was organised by the Mental Health Rights Group and the School of Law, NUI Galway in conjunction with the Employment Law Association of Ireland. This is the second conference organized in conjunction with the Employment Law Association of Ireland. The first, in 2013, addressed Employment Law and Mental Health. The conference welcomed 140 people to the discussion of legal and policy issues relevant to the lives of older people. In particular, regarding circumstances where people may

need independent advocacy, or may need specific decision making assistance, as well this was have diminishing physical and mental capacities. NUI Galway’s Professor Eamon O’Shea and Ms Ursula Connolly spoke at the conference as well as a wealth of other people from the legal profession. There was a heavy focus on the proposed Assisted DecisionMaking (Capacity) Bill 2013. This will bring Ireland up to speed in human rights law, as it replaces the current Lunacy Regulation (Ir) Act 1871. This Act (1871) includes the controversial ward of court system, where the court makes decision for a person when they are deemed to lack capacity to make decisions. This law is not human rights compliant so the 2013 Bill is pro-

posed to comply with international human rights law and to meet commitments by the government to reform the law on wards of court. A presentation on the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009, known as the Fair Deal Scheme, focused on the future impact the legislation has on the assets of the person in receipt of funding under the Scheme. Issues like the question of age discrimination were discussed. A particular focus on the mandatory retirement age raised many challenging questions on the justification for having such a barrier to remaining in employment. The conference became somewhat interactive as the audience participated in a role playing game that saw the presenter act as an awkward client in a solicitor’s office.

The audience participated enthusiastically as they had to uncover why the client was there. This part of the conference dealt with good communication skills and highlighted an innovative way to tackle issues in an interactive way, and help those in attendance reassess their own communicative skills. Advocacy was addressed in the context of the new national organization, Sage, specifically set up to provide advocacy for older people. Advocacy is defined as a political process used by people aiming to influence decisions within political, economic and/ or social systems. For some older people it is essential to enable them to have their voices heard and to ensure they are assisted to make their own decisions.

Budgetary success as legal aid costs fall to €50m in 2014 By Sylvia Power The cost of criminal legal aid in Ireland has fallen by up to 10% since 2011, with the result that the State spent just under €50m on legal assistance in 2014. In the third and fourth quarters of 2011, the government tackled the prohibitively high cost of criminal legal aid through various measures, such as a 10% reduction in fees and a 50% reduction in the

rate paid for sentence fees caused by adjourned sentence hearings in the circuit and higher courts. Former Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, stated that “a number of measures aimed at achieving greater efficiencies in criminal proceedings are being implemented in collaboration with the relevant agencies and with cooperation from legal practitioners.” Shatter resigned from the post in May 2014 after a whistleblower alleged that he had

concealed knowledge about serious misconduct within the Gardaí. A spokesperson for the Bar Council warned that further reductions “would damage the quality of representation given to those availing of criminal legal aid services.” After cuts to their fees, senior counsel receive a brief fee of €1,716 for taking on cases in the circuit court and a refresher fee of €858. A brief fee covers preparatory work and the first day in court

and for each subsequent day, a barrister receives the ‘refresher’ fee. In relation to murder cases in the Central Criminal Court, senior counsel receive a brief fee of €7,127 and a refresher fee of €1,562. As with all budgets, a decline in allocated spending is likely to result in diminished quality in the provision of services. The next several years will tell if this was the correct service for the government to tackle.

Microsoft to unleash Windows 10 By Siobhán Mulvey Microsoft has released further details on its new Windows update. Windows 10 will solve any inadequacies created by Windows 8, and will bring an advanced experience to its customers’ computer screens. Importantly, Windows 10 will be universally available across all devices - desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones, without separate models. For the first time ever, the Windows update will be free of charge only to those currently using Windows 8.1. Features of Windows 10 vary from the standard to the extraordinary. Windows 10 will use holograms. Microsoft say that this feature will enormously change our PC experience. Windows 10 will be compatible with HoloLens glasses,

Investigation into Maternity Unit in Portiuncula Hosptial Ballinasloe By Laura Roddy Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe opened a helpline for service users on Friday 23 January after a response to seven infant incidents born between February and November 2014. Two children died and a further five received oxygen deprivation

during delivery. They were transferred to Dublin for emergency care. The review also found deficiencies in care including the administration of drugs to accelerate the mother's labour and the use of instrumental delivery. It has been decided that an independent team will carry out an investigation into the maternity unit to further con-

firm these cases. The team will also include a patient representative. Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe-Saolta University Health Care Group has said it “regrets any distress this process may cause to the families involved and to other service users and in particular wishes to sympathise with the families of the two babies who died”.

A spokesman for the hospital has said enhanced care processes and monitoring of women in labour at the maternity unit has been put in place to address quality of care. He carried on by saying that “there have been no negative maternity outcomes at Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe since the enhanced monitoring m easures

were put in place." Health Minister Leo Varadkar said that even though the circumstances are not known, the country could not be complacent. “My first concern is for the seven families, particularly the two who died. We can’t say at this stage if there was medical negligence, but we cannot be complacent.

which will enable users to view holograms of their choice. With the HoloStudio app, users will be able to print their own holograms on 3-D printers. Internet Explorer will not be included in the Windows update. Windows 10 will sport a new, efficient browser which has been codenamed ‘Project Spartan’. Internet Explorer will not be compatible with Microsoft’s new browser. An Xbox app will be available on Windows 10, enabling users to play games on their PCs. Cortana, a feature of Windows 10, is a voice activated computer search engine and assistant similar to Apple’s Siri, except, it will also be able to search computer libraries on request. The Start Menu will be restored to Windows 10. Microsoft also hinted that Windows will also be ‘sporting a fresh new look.’ Varadkar added, “Maternity services in Ireland are safe. I say that for two reasons. One, because it is true and two, there are 60,000 pregnant women in Ireland and they all have families.” The contact number for the helpline is 090 9624 620. Details from each call will be documented and a voicemail process is in operation for callers to leave their details during times no one is available to answer.

6 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

STUDENT EXPERIENCE: Please talk about sexual abuse W

HEN I WAS 14 I was abused by a man in his 30s. Bad enough that this happened at all, but it also went on for the best part of two years, and therefore took up a huge amount of my adolescent life. Looking at 14-year-old girls now, a shiver runs down my spine when I think of the hair on his chest that was starting to turn grey in some places. He was one of the coaches in my sports club, and it all started very innocently with him giving me a lift home now and again, and me looking for someone to talk to (about my divorced parents and general teenage unhappiness at school). This is a very typical scenario for stories like mine, I think. It’s easy for a person in power and with authority to manipulate and abuse others. So I spilled my heart out to him. I placed all of my most intimate and personal worries on a silver platter before him, and he did not hesitate to drain every single one of them from me. Over time, I became very emotionally depend-

ent on him. Did I love him? I do not think so, but maybe it felt like that at the time. After all, I had had enough of being a child, and I wanted to go out into the adult world. I felt ready for adventures and I wanted to gather my own experiences. I had always been fascinated by the idea of a much more experienced man, so this opportunity suited me just fine.

throwing each other glances, both of us thinking the same thing but nobody else knowing is what gave him the kicks particularly. He would often provoke “dangerous” situations in which we could have been easily caught, but it never happened. After a few months though, I was crying more than I was happy and I tried to end it, but never managed. He played too big a role in my I tried to explain that “wanting” life on an emotional level; he had achieved that very cleverly. It something and actually wanting and only stopped finally when he was caught with a girl even being able to fully consent to something younger than me. He got two years on probation. I “got are two completely different things, away with it” somehow, but I was heartbroken. but she didn't get it. So I gave up. In addition to the emotional strain then came the whole sexual I saw him in private maybe once a week, part of the relationship. He was the first man and when we were in public it was the big- I ever kissed (properly), which I guess is no gest joke imaginable between us. The thrill of surprise at 14. I can remember “the first time”. It was just plainly awful; there is no other word for it. Obviously it got better from time to time, but I never truly enjoyed having sex with him. I still pretended I did sometimes to make him happy. Afterwards I would cry a lot, in his arms, which now strikes me as very paradoxical.

HY WOULD YOU SEEK COMFORT in the arms of the very same person that hurt you in the first place? He had a life of his own, of which I could never take part, and he went out with his friends. Sillily enough, I always trusted him, and never thought there'd be “other women” besides me. “Take it in your mouth” - “No” - “Do it” - and I did. I also learned that it was normal for him to be able to have sex with me anytime he wanted, and as often as he wanted. My “NO” did not count. I remember one time, I was lying on his desk on my belly, and he was standing behind me. Beside the desk was a shelf, and a photo in it, of him and his exgirlfriend. I could not avoid looking at this photo while he was penetrating me. This was emotional torture. Unfortunately for me, he also had a tendency towards BDSM. He owned three black leather straps, one big, one that went around my neck, and two slightly smaller ones, that went around my wrists or ankles. He had four long black ropes with which he would tie me onto his bed, mostly on my belly with my arms and legs spread out, like a starfish, or sometimes standing up, tied to the wooden beams in his bedroom. He also had a whip. Black wood, black leather. All of this is obviously fully ok when everyone is on the same page – but with me being the 14-year-old kid that I was, it definitely was not okay. I have never felt more worthless.

AM TELLING YOU ALL OF THIS because I want to raise awareness. First, I want to encourage everyone who has experienced anything like this to talk about it. Stuff like this has to be spoken about, because it is never our fault and the shame should not be ours; the shame should belong to the perpetrator and we cannot let these perpetrators carry on doing stuff like this. Talk to your friends, or I could also recommend the Galway Rape Crisis Centre, which has helped me a lot over the last few months (and whom I would like to thank very much at this point). Obviously you will sometimes get awful reactions. I remember once telling quite a close friend of mine at the time, and her answer was: “But if you wanted all of this, what was so bad about it?” I tried to explain to her that “wanting” something and actually wanting and being able to fully consent to something are two completely different things, but she didn't get it. So I gave up. Another time I told a man that I loved a lot at the time, and his response was more or less: “That's years ago now. Get over it.” I am sure these people did not mean evil, they just did not understand. But mostly I have received very good reactions, and I am happy to say that I have a lot of friends that have given me amazing support. The most important thing for me was to get over the shame of what happened, and to realise that it was not my fault and that it is not me who should be feeling as though I was some disgusting creature.

O IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU a story like this, do not turn your nose up at them, do not make a joke about it, and do not show pity. If you do not know what to say, maybe just a hug will do, or calling the perpetrator a “piece of shit” to get through the initial awkward moment. It is essential not to abandon the survivor of a situation like this. Last but not least I would like to ask everyone to keep an eye and an ear open for situations like mine. Over the last while, I have come to know a good few people who have experienced injustice like I have. This is wrong. The amount of women who have told me stories like this is shocking and nobody should have to go through anything like this. If you have younger siblings, kids, friends, or if you are a member of a club yourself, or even just in school: pay attention and read between the lines. It happens all over the place, all of the time. You can never be too careful or alert enough in cases like this. After all, on the surface, my coach was a really lovely, sound guy.

If you have had an experience similar to this, contact: GALWAY RAPE CRISIS CENTRE: 091 564 800 STUDENTS’ UNION WELFARE OFFICER: 091 492747/086 3853659/ su.welfare@nuigalway.ie

DEBATE 7

February 09 2015

THIS WEEK’S DEBATE: RTE recently released information regarding the amount of expenses claimed by each TD. The question is: in a time of austerity, misery and want for those less fortunate in our society, should TDs be receiving expenses on top of their salaries?

Yes they should receive expenses By Kieran Kilkelly Late in January, RTE's Investigation Unit conducted research into all payments received by politicians in the period beginning March 2011 and ceasing in July 2014. The results show that almost €100 million has been paid out in expenses over that 41-month period and many people have expressed their dissatisfaction about it. TDs were the main 'culprits' having amassed €78 million of that figure. Calls have since come from the people for the abolishment of expenses – but is that really necessary? First we must look at those who are complaining; the proletariat of this country. Most of these are hard-working citizens who put in their 9-5 daily and enjoy family time at the weekend. However, there are some who refuse to work and claim benefits themselves. These people are essentially hypocrites in their protests against the administering of expenses. Over €20 billion is forked out in social welfare payments yearly and while not all of these payments go towards so called 'dole-cheats', a significant amount does and you can expect it to be over the €100 million mark that is paid out to politicians. But yet there are no – or minimal complaints – about these from the same people that are complaining about the government. These people on social welfare do not provide (or attempt to provide) a service such as the politician does, so why all the animosity? It seems as though any excuse is needed to scrutinise these politicians. What is not taking into consideration is the fact that a TD's job involves two geographical locations i.e they must be accessible within their constituency and also be able to represent their constituents in Dail Eireann. To be accessible to the people who have voted them in they need a place of work, they need staff to man the place and also tools to do the job e.g mobile phones, stationery etc. These expenses are all in the name of helping the public and hearing their concerns, their real concerns. They are of benefit to the people. They are tools of the trade. You wouldn't expect a painter to come and paint your house and be in receipt of free

paint. You would pay him the expense because the paint is a limited tool which benefits you and of which the painter will have no use for when his job is done – such as the office, staff and all other administrative expenses are. In terms of travel and accommodation expenses, these are the norm in most big companies. To withhold these would raise serious questions over the way the Irish government treats its heads of state.

No, our politicians are not entitled to expenses Mark Kelly When the statistics on what expenses TD and senators claim was released on the RTE website last week I was absolutely gobsmacked. Most TD’s and senators are claiming expenses that were the same, if not more than, someone who works in retail full-time. That is on top of their salary (65.5k after tax for TD’s and 43.5k after tax for senators).

These expenses are all in the They should get what name of helping the public

regular workers and others

and hearing their concerns,

get. They should get any

their real concerns. They

postage and phone calls paid

are of benefit to the people. for, they should have travel They are tools of the trade. Can we be seen across the world to be that petty that we wouldn't shell out for the price of the bus or tank of petrol for the family man travelling from the depths of Kerry, all in the name of making known the poor infrastructure in his area? It would diminish and severely harm our welcoming nature. Of course, there are a few who do try and make the most of the system and there are some who slip under the radar. Random audits do occur but only deal with about 10% or so people claiming. So is the solution to audit everyone? Well, the cost alone would probably not be worth the expenses that will be saved. And it must be taken into consideration that those who are found guilty of being in receipt of over-expenses must make repayments and in most cases they are oversights or accidental. So the real issue is not the cost of expenses, it is the salaries that these politicians receive. These are what should be addressed and not the expenses as expenses differ from region to region whereas salaries are universal. And to those who say that people will still exploit the system, well, can we really have one or two ruining it for everybody else?

to other countries paid for, if there is a work-related need for them to go there. They should not be paid to travel to Dail Eireann every day. They are required to be there. They should not be paid to stay over in five star hotels. In fact, since the last general election in 2011, the lowest amount a member of either house has received from tax payer money having served every year is 219 thousand euro. That belongs to Senator John Crowe, who has not claimed expenses in the last 3 years. Eamonn Maloney is a TD who hasn’t claimed any expenses since the election, yet he has still earned 326,400 euro in 4 years. If those numbers aren’t an eye opener to the fact members of the two houses don’t need expenses then I don’t know what else is. Yes, senators and TD’s have had their

salaries cut by a third since 2013. Yes, they have a lot of travelling to do. However, the average worker would have to travel for work every day too. Most workers don’t get expenses for all the travel they have to do to and from work. Their salary is meant to not only cover their accommodation, bills and loans, food and clothing amongst other things as well as their fuel expenses. They don’t get an allowance for travel, they don’t get expenses for overnight stays to make work early the next day and they sure as hell don’t get allowances for a second house closer to their place of work. It can’t even be compared to higher ups in companies (managers, board members, CEO’s etc) getting travel expenses. Those expenses come from the company, privately raised money, deals and other things that people in the company do to make the company profitable. It doesn’t come from the people of the country, who have suffered through one of the worst recessions in their history, taken massive hits to income by way of tax increases and social welfare cuts to help pay a bailout they were at least partially responsible for. They get paid a large wage even after they are taxed. They get massive pensions, money to run for office (even independents get this if elected), funds to employ secretaries and other people in their constituencies. All of that is fair, but adding expenses on top of that is bad judgement at best. They should get what regular workers and others get. They should get any postage and phone calls paid for, they should have travel to other countries paid for, if there is a workrelated need for them to go there. They should not be paid to travel to Dail Eireann every day. They are required to be there. They should not be paid to stay over in five star hotels. Their food and drink expenses should not be covered or subsidised in any way. Regular workers do not get this and neither should they. The 40 million they claim every year is money that could be put towards paying off our bailout, not to pay for our TDs and senators to travel, eat, sleep and drink every time they are near the Dail.

8 OPINION

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

SINN FEIN: do their policies add up? By Tomás M. Creamer Sinn Fein is, without a doubt, a very polarising presence on the Irish political scene. That is not necessarily a bad thing – the lack of a real dividing line between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, when they absolutely dominated the Irish political scene, was always problematic for those who wished for parliamentary democracy Ireland, whereby an alternation of power between different parties would actually result in substantially different policies and principles. However, even excluding the hornet’s nest that happens to be Sinn Fein’s past and present north of the border, the party faces other critiques that alienates some potential supporters – such as its economic policy, which is often grouped together alongside Socialist party proposals, and those of many of the Independents, as being “pie in the sky” economics.

The problem is, there isn’t any real way to prove that critique. Despite what the establishment parties say, Sinn Fein does offer alternative sources of revenue to replace that which would be lost if they implemented their policy of abolishing the water charge and the property tax. These proposals include items such as a third rate of income tax, at 48% rate for income over 100,000 and a “wealth tax”, defined as a 1% tax payable on net wealth in excess of €1 million with exclusions for “working farmland, business assets, 20 per cent of the family home and pension pots”. It is also true that the Department of Finance can cost different economic proposals, but only on an individual basis – in other words, they cannot effectively cost an entire budget proposal by an opposition party as a whole, meaning that it would be impossible to cost the other possible implications from introducing these measures in one package.

This little inconvenient fact is often lost in the heat and smoke produced by budget debates, and speaking to individual economists often doesn’t change much. Ronan Lyons, an economist from Trinity, believes that: “the concern with a third rate [of income tax] is that that could have an impact on people trying to make themselves get under a line so they don’t get into that third bracket”, and that it could act as a disincentive to work, due to what is considered to be Ireland’s already high marginal rate of Income tax of 52%. This also includes the universal social charge, effectively a second income tax. On the other hand, Marie Sherlock, an economist at SIPTU, notes there is “common ground” between the Union’s call for a third rate of tax and Sinn Féin’s, and although the Union also supports the idea of a wealth tax, as proposed by the party, they do not support it for the purposes of abolishing the property tax.

The Government is planning to establish a special Dail Committee, dedicated to not only allowing for pre-budget submissions and other economic proposals from political parties and independent TDs and Senators to be costed, but also for providing an analysis of their impact on the wider economy. It must be pointed out, however, that Sinn Fein has also called for such a mechanism, and in an interview with TheJournal.ie last year, the party’s finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty, had said “If we had an independent unit that would do that on behalf of political parties and independents then I believe that would be of huge benefit to the public debate and discourse that we’re having”. So, it seems that Sinn Fein are just as confident that their sums are correct as the Coalition are certain that they are nonsense. And if the Government actually go through with this, we’ll soon see who’s right.

Far-right’s rise in Europe necessitates far-reaching questions By Tomás M. Creamer The rise of the far-right is rightly raising fears and concerns over increasing xenophobia across the continent in Europe. In Britain, France and Denmark, parties described as “far-right” topped the polls during the European elections in 2014. Such parties also had their successes in countries as far apart as Sweden and Greece. These parties vary quite a lot, mostly conforming to the particular circumstances of the country in question. Parties such as Greece’s Golden Dawn – which is a minor force in the country compared to the anti-austerity Syriza – are unashamedly neo-Nazi, mostly reflecting a country thrown into chaos in the recent Eurozone crisis.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have UKIP in Britain, which tries to come across as a more buffoonish, straight-talking version of the Conservatives. In many sectors in British society, that narrative is accepted. This is mainly because, even though the Brits are not too badly-off compared to the Greeks, some of them feel that too many migrants are arriving on their shores. Whether the concern is valid is another question altogether. For the most part, much of the support for these parties often come from what is left of the working or lower classes of society, who feel that their position in society is ignored, and both undermined and overshadowed by migrants.

In such countries, especially when the overall national economy is doing fine, many of these people are often ripe for exploitation by such xenophobic elements, as is the case in France, where the Front National’s Marie Le Pen tops presidential polls. This would explain why many of the most successful far-right parties are in countries like Denmark, Sweden, the UK, and the Netherlands – countries that are doing a lot better than many of those in the Eurozone periphery. In many of the southern European countries, which have suffered the brunt of the damage caused by the recession,

such racial divisions are less important, because everyone in the middle and lower classes are suffering. This explains why it was the far-left Syriza party that ended up taking power in Greece recently, and not the far-right Golden Dawn. In Spain, Portugal and Ireland, there are no visibly far-right parties that have entered parliament. This, of course, does not mean that there is no racism, or any anti-immigrant sentiments in those countries – but so far, it seems that it has not transferred to the political sphere, where more general anti-austerity politics are the bread and butter of anti-establishment forces.

Government to hold referendums in 2015 Page three, a Fine Gael By Tomás M. Creamer of the constitution more gender-neutral, councillor and so-called ‘feminazis’ such as the “women in the home” clause, May 2015, the Government will hold a referendum on same-sex marriage, as well as a proposal to reduce the minimum age required in order to be a Presidential candidate from 35 to 21. There is no confirmation that any other constitutional referendums will be held before the government’s current term in office officially ends in early 2016. There are mixed messages coming from the government. Taoiseach Enda Kenny had said that “[The Government] will hold two referendums this year and I have confirmed that that will be it”. However, Labour’s Alex White has been reported to have said that more referendums are possible in autumn, based on some of the proposals by the constitutional convention. These include extending the vote for Presidential elections to Irish citizens abroad, removing the blasphemy clause in the constitution, reducing the voting age from 18 to 16, and other proposals that extend from making the language in places

and a guarantee of various social and cultural rights. Two other referendum proposals have been given attention by government in recent months – a repeal of the 8th Amendment, which placed a constitutional ban on abortion, unless where the life of the mother is threatened, and a proposed clause to ban any future government from privatising Irish Water. Due to the division on the issue of abortion created between the conservative and liberal wings within Fine Gael, as well as within Fianna Fail, the former is not set to happen in the near future. This was evident when Fianna Fail Leader Micheál Martin had been forced to allow a free vote on the 2013 Abortion bill, which aimed to legislate for the “X Case”, and by the handful of TDs that defied Fine Gael’s strict party whip on the vote. The latter has been simply ruled out by Enda Kenny, who instead insisted that “existing safeguards” in the Irish Water legislation will be strengthened.

By Siobhan Mulvey

Keith Redmond, a Fine Gael councillor based in Fingal, recently tweeted his disapproval of The Sun’s apparent decision to scrap the infamous ‘page 3’. It appears that our country is run by those who will throw a hissy fit if they cannot gawk at pair of breasts in a daily newspaper. Redmond tweeted that due to ‘feminazis’ (he actually meant feminists), women have lost the employment opportunities of ‘page 3.’ Frankly, Redmond doesn’t realise that women would not need to take their clothes off in order to make a living, if they were given the same political opportunities as men. Or, if there were half as many female councillors as there are male councillors. Or, for example, if NUI Galway’s female lecturers were promoted to a higher profession when they rightfully should have been. Feminists are constantly under fire simply because they strive for gender equality. The existence of a ‘page 3’ promotes the idea that women are merely sexual objects.

It symbolises the idea that a female’s sole purpose is to appeal to the sexual and fantastical pleasures of men. This male-centred newspaper is published on a daily basis, as The Sun feels their readers cannot live their everyday life without some very public porn. This is insulting to both sexes. Feminists want media recognition that women are human beings, with infinite academic and political potential. The fact that such insensitive, misogynistic comments were made by a person of political power is deeply concerning. One can still feel that an anti-female sentiment is present in Irish politics. The fact that to this day Article 41.2 remains an uncontested part of Bunreacht na hÉireann signals an Irish political sphere which is discreetly hostile to the advancement of women. 15% of TDs are women, ranking Ireland as one of the lower countries for female representation. Feminists, or ‘feminazis’ as penned by Redmond, advocate equal rights for both men and women. Oh, but what an outrageous idea this seems to the ruling elite of our society.

OPINION 9

February 09 2015

Why Saudi Arabia Matters ISIS release new videos of executions By Chelsea Tabert King Adbullah of Saudi Arabia has died after ruling for two decades – but why does Saudi Arabia matter? Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter and has the largest oil reserves in the world. The Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali al-Naimi, has emphasized a shift in Saudi Arabian policy to not cut production and allow the market to determine where the oil price should go, even if it means oil falling further from here. However, since oil prices are now at levels that cause real concern on the streets of Saudi Arabia, the prospect of succession, the icing on top, has caused retail investors to take the market down another peg. In November, OPEC – the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, voted to keep oil production flowing after much consideration. This is what drove the oil prices down initially. Whether this decision was a wise one is a completely different debate. Foreign policy and common ideologies are other means that factor into why Saudi Arabia plays such an important role to the world. Sunni Muslims in Saudi Arabia are also a key player in middle-east politics. It is them who compete with Shia Iran for regional influence. Saudi Arabia is home to the hardline Wahhabi school of Islam, which influences groups across the Muslim world, and is the reason that many say Saudi Arabia exported the main source of global terrorism – ISIS. Although ISIS is certainly an Islamic movement, it is neither typical nor mired in the distant past, because its roots are in Wahhabism, a form of Islam practised in Saudi Arabia that only developed in the 18th century. That goes without saying that Saudi has

joined the coalition against the Islamic State, regardless of the fact that many fighters come from the country. Saudi Arabia is also known as home to Islam’s holiest site – Masjid al-Haram, “The Sacred Mosque”, and has the fourth- largest defence budget in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). As of 2013, $67 billion was set and spent towards their national defense budget – and unusual amount considering their neighbouring countries are preoccupied with wars against the US, and Saudi is a wholeheartedly oil driven economy, not military. Saudi Arabia is also one of the west’s main allies in the middle-east, another piece that makes you question why their defence budget and spending surpasses 96% of the world’s countries. Certainly, events in the past year have shown the need for profound political and economic reform in Saudi Arabia, which would bolster the stability of the kingdom as well as the global economy, however, the death of King Adbullah has brought its own issues that must be dealt with appropriately in a very timely manner. While any process of succession should be smooth with the next two leaders defined, there is significant uncertainty as to what path Saudi Arabia may take going forward. Given the almost plenipotentiary powers of the King, Prince Salman could realistically decide to do almost anything he wants if he deems it in the best interests of Saudi Arabia. This includes matters of spending, where significant sums are likely to be spent on succession to ensure it goes smoothly and the social contract in Saudi Arabia is maintained and, more pertinently for global markets, on oil.

By Cathal Kelly and Chelsea Tabert Saturday 31 January ISIS have posted a video showing the decapitation of Haruna Yukawa after the Japanese government failed to pay a $200 million ransom withinin 72 hours. The group have released a video of the surviving hostage, Kenji Goto, handcuffed alone and dressed in an orange jumpsuit, holding a picture of what looks like his beheaded compatriot. Days later, secondary footage has released of Kenji Goto’s death after the Japanese failed to meet their second request - the release of Sajida alRishawi, a female suicide bomber who was arrested in Jordan in 2005 on suspicion of attempting to take part in attacking Jordanian hotels. "They no longer want money, so you don't need to worry about funding terrorists," Kenji was recorded saying just days before his death. Goto, along with a captive Jordanian military pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh who was kidnapped by ISIS were both killed as the request was not met for a second time. "They [were] just demanding the release of their imprisoned sister Sajida al-Rishawi." Jordanian king Abdullah II and Japanese Prime Minister Abe spoke regarding the matters and no agreement was met. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe said the video was "highly credible" on 31 January, telling Japanese media broadcaster NHK that the act was "abominable" and "unforgivable.” American officials also believe of its authentic-

ity. In the initial video, Goto blamed the Japanese prime minister for failing to act to save Yukawa, and blamed him solely for the death. President Obama openly condemned the murders, and expressed his condolences to the Japanese public and pledged "to bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice". He also said America "will continue to take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat" ISIS". He and British Prime Minister David Cameron said they would together, and would not negotiate with the terrorists demands. Cameron said that "Britain strongly supports the firm stance Prime Minister Abe and his Government have taken and we will continue to work with Japan and other partners around the world to promote peace and to build a safer, more secure future for our citizens," while US Secretary of state; John Kerry said that America was grieving with both Yukawa’s and Goto’s families. Goto was an experienced freelance journalist and reporter covering the conflict in Iraq and Syria, contributing to NHK and various Japanese news organizations. Goto covered big stories, hoping that by telling them, he could make a difference, his mother said in a statement.She had been campaigning for his release which included making an appeal directly to ISIS to let her son go. Yukawa was an aspiring security contractor who felt at home in the war-torn region. Both were captured by ISIS in the early months of 2014 and held hostage since.

OPINION: Australia is evil as hell By Dean Buckley Recently, the Literary & Debating Society hosted a debate on whether or not Ireland should have fought a war of independence against Britain. Many an opponent of the war referenced Canada and Australia as examples of former colonies who successfully achieved independence by peaceful means. Now might be a good time to remind everyone that, contrary to popular depictions, Canada and Australia are corporate-owned, authoritarian and racist as all hell, and we probably shouldn’t aspire to be like them. For a pressing example of Australia’s embarrassing quantities of evil, we need only look as far as Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. You see, it’s the policy of the Australian government to house asylum seekers and refugees in “offshore processing centres”, presumably so they have fewer filthy immigrants daring to exist in their magical country that they definitely did not steal from its native people through a centuries-long campaign of violent occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing. So, what are these “offshoring processing centres” like? Well, they’re a series of camps in which all those seeking asylum or refugee status in Australia are concentrated into chunks of people so it’s easier

for the private companies managing the camps to control them, neglect them and deny them access to basic human rights. Several detainees have died due to not receiving medical care. I’d like to remind everyone reading that the prisoners in these camps are people with families who love them, rights as individuals and the ability to feel horrifying pain as they die slowly, since the Australian government seems to have forgotten. Despite their rights, despite the laws of Australia and Papua New Guinea, and despite the policy document of the company managing the camps, people in the camps have had their phones confiscated for the crime of documenting their conditions. Hunger strikers are protesting these conditions, and when they collapse in the fifty-degree heat, they’re left to lie there by the security staff. They don’t get medical attention unless other inmates carry them to the nurses themselves, and even then, it’s a roll of the dice. Sure, Australia has a right to defend its borders, but asylum seekers and refugees are not a threat to Australia, and they have rights under national and international law that aren’t being respected. Meanwhile, see how trivially easy it is for white immigrants to waltz into Australia. Then try talking about Oz’s wonderful post-racial society.

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10 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Towards a European debt conference By Eoin Molloy

Kenny’s refusal makes no sense, from a logical point of view. However, he seems to be more concerned with saving face than with saving the Irish people from unjust debt. If Tsipras and his government get the writedown they are looking for, it will make Kenny and his cabinet look completely inept. There is no downside in simply calling for a European debt conference. As Gerry Adams said, ‘there can only be gains’. The topic of a ‘debt conference’ was debated by Gerry Adams and Joan Burton on Claire Byrne Live in late January. Adams spoke in grand, sometimes-vague, sweeping rhetoric about the unfair burden that has been placed on the lowest members of our society. Burton, on the other hand, seemed less concerned with the debate topic, and was hell-bent on interrupting Adams every time he made a logical point. She acknowledged that there was ‘merit’ in the idea of a European debt conference (a viewpoint that puts her at loggerheads with an Taoiseach), however, much of her talking time was given over to parroting off government slogans like ‘job creation’ and ‘the recovery is real’. More to the point, a lot of the ‘debt conference’ talk has centred on Germany’s hypocrisy.

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Greece’s left-wing Syriza party, has been sworn in as the embattled country’s new Prime Minister following his party’s landslide victory in a snap election help on Sunday, 25 of January. Tsipras, who is Greece’s youngest prime minister in over a century at 40 years of age, was sworn in at a secular ceremony sporting his familiar no tie look. So what exactly do Syriza stand for? They are the first Euro-zone majority party to outwardly reject German-backed austerity. They are essentially a populist party who seek to achieve a better deal on the outstanding 240 billion Greek public debt. Upon his election to power, Tsipras gave a stirring speech, saying: ‘a wind of democratic change is blowing across Europe’. He acknowledged that there is an ‘uphill’ struggle ahead, but waved away claims that he would turn to pragmatism before long. Tsipras also has ties to left-wing parties across Europe, including Sinn Fein in Ireland, and Podemos in Spain. He said that these two parties should be the next to be elected in Europe if real change is to be achieved. The link between Syriza and Sinn Fein is a genuine one. Tsipras What exactly do Syriza stand for? toured North Dublin last year, accompanied by SF politicians. They are the first Euro-zone There he said: ‘Austerity deteriorates every- majority party to outwardly thing. In Greece we are facing a humanitarian crisis after six years reject German-backed austerity. of recession. Here in Ireland, as in Greece, many young people emigrate to find In 1953, post-war Germany was crippled a better future.’ under 32 billion dollars of external debt. Their Proving once more that the link between economy was on the brink of collapse, and the these parties is far from manufactured, it same ‘misery and want’ that had allowed the was confirmed that Gerry Adams spoke with Nazis to gain support in the first place was back. Tsipras on the phone as late as Friday last. A ‘debt conference’ was held in London Sinn Fein have welcomed the election of between Germany and all of its creditor their Greek comrades, with Adams heralding nations, including Ireland, Greece and Spain. the momentous result as ‘a victory for hope The decision was taken to cut German debt over fear’. in half, and to extend the repayment period It appears that in Greece, as in Ireland, a by over 30 years. predominantly right-wing media has been 60 odd years on, Germany won’t repay the attempting to smear left-wing parties for quite favour. some time. This is similar to what Pearse Doherty Should Syriza perform well in govreferred to as the Irish establishment attempting ernment over the next year, they will to release the ‘fear factor’ on Sinn Fein. undoubtedly be held up as a successful The idea of a ‘debt conference’ should blueprint for Sinn Fein come Ireland’s genappeal greatly to Irish voters and it is a eral election in 2016. If more anti-austerity policy that should be latched onto by all parties come to power across Europe in of the major political parties. Or so one the next few years, the possibility of a ‘debt would think. conference’ can only grow. Merkel’s austerSo adamant is Kenny to remain the ‘good ity will surely be at an end. student’ of Merkel’s austere Europe, that he A European debt conference is the only has refused to back Tsipras’s call for a debt way forward. It is time for our creditors conference that could potentially wipe away to take a bit of a haircut. External debt is the unfair burden that has been placed on crippling EU citizens, and it’s time we dealt the backs of Irish taxpayers. with it democratically through an internaThe debt of Anglo Irish and other toxic tional conference with each member state banks was not the debt of ordinary citizens. represented in equal measure. Cutting the It was essentially gambling debt racked up by debt burden that has been unfairly squared a few dozen individuals buying and selling on the shoulders of EU citizens is the moral stock in a volatile and high-variance market. thing to do.

FEATURES 11

February 09 2015

Jules Macken YEAR OF GRADUATION: 2002 & 2003 COURSE AT NUI GALWAY: B.Comm

& Spanish, Higher Diploma in Marketing Practices CURRENT OCCUPATION: Global Communication Manager Heineken

What is your fondest memory of NUI Galway? Printable ones? I loved living in Corrib Village in first year. I was with a lot of the international students, who come with such a different perspective on college life and they really widened my experience (beyond just the bar and the GPO – not that there is anything wrong with either and I spent a good deal of my time in both just to be sure). Erasmus was a gift and something I would recommend everyone to take part in if given the chance. Oh, and I met my partner there – you know, happy ever after…

Has NUI Galway changed since you were here? Well, it’s at least twice the size. St. Anthony’s is unrecognisable – not least for having good heating – and I would need a map/guide to navigate it.

How did attending NUI Galway develop you as a person? Most of my school friends went to college in Dublin, so I became more independent in Galway. But I also feel that in a city where 25% of the population is students, there is a very different vibe. There was always a laid back aspect to life in NUIG and I think I have retained throughout my life.

Did you partake in any societies, sports clubs or volunteering at NUI Galway? I had great notions of joining all of them. In the end, I stuck to what I knew and played hockey. I really considered the rowing club, but the lycra was just not for me.

IN PROFILE: Ronan Walsh, President of JCI Galway WHAT IS JCI?

JCI Galway is a part of Junior Chamber International, a world wide not-for-profit organisation of 18 to 40 year olds; people who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities. JCI also offers the platform to develop your perosnal leadership skills, become a better public speaker, and get involved in event and project management and so much more. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH JCI?

I was an entrant is some of the projects they ran in 2012 and 2013 and saw the good work JCI does in the community. The more I learned about the work JCI does the more I wanted to be a part of it and I became a member towards the end of 2013.

AS THE PRESIDENT OF JCI, WHAT ARE YOUR DUTIES?

All JCI office positions are for one year, so you have one year to lead. As local President I oversee the running of the local organisation. With the help of my council we oversee all the projects, membership recruitment and management of the local organisation. As President I also sit on the National Executive Council of JCI Ireland and attend all national and some international events. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GETTING INVOLVED WITH JCI?

JCI is a learn-by-doing organisation; the more you put into it the more you get out of it. JCI is unique as it offers opportunities across four main areas; Personal Development (through training sessions, project management); Community Involvment (via community projects); Business opportunities (through networking opportunities and business projects); and International Opportunities (European and world conferences). HOW COULD I GET INVOLVED WITH JCI?

Anyone aged 18-40 can become a members of JCI. We meet once a month on the second Tuesday of each month at 8pm in the Harbour Hotel. These are free events and there will be a guest speaker offering training on a particular topic. We encourage people to come along to these open meeting to find out more about JCI. For more on JCI Galway, visit www.jcigalway.org.

We did form A.S.S.: The Alternative Spanish Society, we found ourselves far more fluent as the night went on.

What was the college newspaper like when you were in NUI Galway? Did you write for it? I have no idea – I may not always have been the most high-brow student.

Do you ever miss NUI Galway? I do, every time I drive by it. I loved it; I loved the craic, the people and the easy-going nature of life in NUIG.

Any juicy stories of your time here? Beer required to answer that one.

so I know about these things. Explore, be curious, enjoy.

What advice would you give to current NUI Galway students?

If you could go back and do it all again, what would you do differently?

Without trying to be hideously patronising: don’t be afraid, do something you love – if you haven’t found it yet don’t worry, but keep looking. Work-life balance is important – I work for a beer brand,

Well I’d buy better rain gear for a start. But I also think I would have liked to get more involved. We were a small class of eight people, which was great for cohesion and a sense of belonging, but was also a little isolating.

12 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

That will do the job

By Ciara Treacy My LinkedIn page is finally being used for its purpose and that terrifies me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for my profile to be getting some recognition at last. As my most preferred form of procrastination, ample time has been invested in condensing my experience into concise bullet points with buzzwords aplenty. The mandatory endorsements from my nearest and dearest also help. Having a recent look at my progression on the site, I realised I haven’t quite reached the complete All Star profile status which I so crave. It had me thinking what additions would motivate LinkedIn to bump me up (apart from upgrading to their Premium package)?

It also comes after my mother had another one of her “Ciara, what will you do when you go out in the big world?” moments. At least I think that’s what she asked – I couldn’t quite hear her over chews of the dinner which was made for me and the sound of the central heating which I wasn’t paying for. Another recipe book had been introduced to the house in an attempt to convert me to the next Martha Stewart (minus the jail time). My skills in that regard might need some improvement I’ll admit; I recently made a scrambled egg which could have been used as an adhesive for brick homes. While I’m ticking off boxes I think I could improve the fitness side of things too. I’ve done yoga which despite its power of relaxation was tougher than expected and someone always farts during the stretches. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t forgotten my track pants and had to wear a pair of jeans. Yes, I wore jeans to yoga. They weren’t even your stylish light pair of jeans, or jeggings. Oh no, these were coarse whitewash pants of destruction which required a belt to hold them up, restricting my movement further. This was not appreciated by the yoga snobs who signed up to the beginners’ class despite the fact they were almost levitating during the session.

I’m currently looking into swimming lessons since it’s been about 13 years since I quit classes in an act of childish defiance. In advance of my return to the pool I’ve invested in a set of prescription goggles to ensure I enhance my technique immeasurably, and also to avoid awkward moments like, say, wearing jeans to swimming lessons. Yes, my culinary and swimming skills have little to be desired. I can explain the ins and outs of asymmetric information and externalities, play a half-decent harmonica solo and supervise large-scale events, but as a human being I’m just about functioning. This is the failing of LinkedIn (and my laziness) – if they don’t make the profile, they don’t achieve priority status. There’s undoubtedly pressure on upcoming graduates to maximise employability, sometimes to the detriment of actual life skills. CVs are expected to have progressed significantly from achievements such as ‘student of the year’ awards in primary school and the results of second level entrance exams. On the academic and experience side of things, I think the profile is faring out okay – apart from having a start-up initiative. Every enviable LinkedIn profile seems to boast a start-up initiative.

No business plans are in the pipeline but I have started playing Pokémon again and under my leadership skills the squad is undergoing a rapid level of development. A language is next on my agenda. I recently started using an app called Duolingo which offers free extensive courses in a number of languages. Experts’ advice on distinguishing oneself from the crowd came to mind when choosing a language so I am learning Dutch; not the most beneficial choice but at least I can watch Andre Rieu concerts on Sky Arts without the subtitles on. Last but not least at the weekend I invested in my own domain name, to expand the empire for when I have eventually acquired a particular set of skills which would make even Liam Neeson proud. As the Dutch say alle waar is naar zijn geld.

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VALENTINE'S 13

February 09 2015

Romance your way to success… By John Mulry I’m a big romantic at heart. Ask my girlfriend. I love to shower her with gifts, large and small from surprises, gestures, simple text messages to elaborate schemes that can be often times outright strange (and ones that only we get). This issue of Sin is very much Valentine’s focused and I’m guessing there’ll be people jumping on both sides of the fence regarding it. No doubt there’ll be a lot of bashers out there. “It’s not even a real holiday” “It’s a just a sham that [ahem, smart] marketers dreamt up to make more money”. If this is what you’re thinking or it’s your view on Valentine’s you’re looking at it from the completely wrong perspective. And if you’re wondering what does this have to do with marketing yourself to potential employers or, since its Valentine’s, potential partners all will be revealed so read on… Sure Valentine’s may be a made up holiday to sell more cards, chocolates and teddies but you know what? Who cares? As a sidenote, to me Valentine’s Day is just like any other day because like I said I am a romantic at heart. I always go above and beyond not just on Valentine’s, and not because “I’m a sucker” and “fall for the hype” but because I love romance and I know my girlfriend does too. Like I said, I’m a romantic. Therein lies the problem though. Not everyone is. If you are in a relationship where you often find yourself too busy to do the little things, too tired for cuddles, too tired to talk, couldn’t be bothered to go the extra mile etc., etc.; if your relationship seems like it’s in a

perpetual cycle of boring to boring to boring then you better well bring you’re a-game on Valentine’s because like it or not, your partner, other half, lover, wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend no matter which you might swing absolutely wants to be recognised, loved, noticed and made feel special on this “not even a real holiday” day. I don’t care if you’re the least romantic person in the world and you wouldn’t be able to tell a bouquet of roses from a bucket of horse crap; if you’re naïve enough to think that going through the motions and doing the same thing as you’ve always done, if skipping out on making your so called special someone actually made feel special is not part of your ‘game’ then you’re a fool. This is the one day in the year where you can at the very least portray to your special someone how much they mean to you. You don’t have to go traditional like dinner, chocolates, flowers, teddies but for feck sake something is going to be better than nothing. Make a damn effort. If you’re not, ask yourself, why you’re not willing to. The answer may hurt you. And so we come to how this ties into marketing yourself to potential employers or partners. Are you simply going through the motions? When’s the last time you went above and beyond for someone? There’s no denying we all have an innate ability to look out for number one but the greatest feeling of happiness comes from giving and sharing to others. Your greatest success when it comes to marketing yourself will come from what’s called the strategy of pre-eminence. The strategy of pre-eminence basically means that you act in a way that

makes you the only logical choice when it comes to getting what you want. Whether that’s a job, an interview or a date, a partner is up to you. LET’S LOOK AT IT FROM TOO PERSPECTIVES:

1. THE GUY/GAL LOOKING FOR A PARTNER: If you’re single and when Valentine’s rolls around you start jumping on the bitter “Valentine’s is for suckers” wagon then what do you think you’re doing to your chances of actually finding someone? Good luck with that. This also applies to you if you’re already in a relationship. If you don’t take this opportunity to recognise your partner on Valentine’s what message are you portraying to them? 2. THE GUY/GAL LOOKING FOR HIS DREAM JOB: When it comes time for you to secure your dream job would you expect to be hired if you’re the type of guy or gal or goes around finding things wrong with everything rather than seeing the beauty and opportunity in everything? I know which one I’ll be hiring.

Market Thyself

So this year when Valentine’s rolls around don’t take the easy way out, don’t bitch and moan about fake holidays, money rackets and all of that; go out and make that loved one feel special. You’ll be glad you did. Similarly, don’t bitch and moan about how there’s no jobs or there’s too many applicants for each job and it’s too hard; read all the back issues of this column, go out there, stand out from the crowd, go the extra mile, make an effort and engineer your own success.

When Shit Gets Real By Hazel Doyle So what happens when shit gets real? You’ve done the awkward shifting and texting, and not knowing where you stand. You’ve been on the awkward dates and you’ve met all

the friends. You’ve moved on to nights in together, instead of meeting on nights out, and you’ve even met the ‘rents. And is your love still alive? Do you still feel that raw physical attraction that made you head on over and try out your best lines in the first place? Do you still send super-cute/ super-cringe text messages that’d render you morto if your friends stumbled across them? Or are your texts purely functional? Of the ‘have you got the milk?’ variety? Ah yes. What to do when shit gets real? How do you keep the romance alive, when you’ve been through all the motions? Valentine’s Day is a particularly tough time of year, not least for the singletons, but for all the couples out there too. There’s an expectation that you must spend time together, that you need to shower your other half (on bebo) with teddies holding love-hearts and the like. I mean, does anyone really appreciate that stuff? What function does that teddy bear serve? They’re never ever even soft enough to cuddle! I think boys have it tough on V-Day. They tend to be hopeless at the oul’ presents, God love ye lads, but then there are a lot of expectations that they’ll have planned some romantic gesture, which doesn’t seem to be

the case so much for the ladies. Us gals tend to be the ones on the receiving end of those little teddies, i mo thuraim. Really, if you want boys to plan some kind of spontaneous gesture, you’ve got to plan it for them, start dropping hints just after Chrimbo, and then step away and let them think it’s all their idea. And of course, your only job, as the female of the species, is to act all surprised and happy. Ah yes, the ladies have the Life of Reily. If you’re one of those couples who has been together since ye both met at the Junior Cert Results Disco, how do ye celebrate the Lá le Luurrve? Have you long since forgotten what love is? (Cue ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ by the band Foreigner). Do ye reminisce about all the times ye have spent together? Do ye write cutesy cards about your first Vally Day and your hopes for the years to come? Or does Valentine’s Day cease to have any relevance after the fourth time you both swapped love-heart shaped chocolates and went out for a steak dinner? For couples, Valentine’s Day can be a tough time. It’s a time to focus on the love that you’re both supposed to have, and there’s a lot of pressure to spend cutesy, romantic, soppy time together, and get a card, a box of

chocolate and a unicorn teddy that sings ‘I love you this much’ when squeezed by the horn. But it can also become a time when maybe one of you realises that it’s not so much a time to celebrate the love that you have, but time to get out because you actually don’t like each other anymore. So, if shit has gotten real, and you actually don’t like what has become of that ‘sure shift’ you once had, then maybe you should get out before a photo-frame with ‘kisses’ emblazoned on top of a photo of the two of you arrives on your lap. If you’re still gazing into one another’s eyes like that first night in TY, then let us know when you’re off up the aisle. My advice to those who need a fresh start? Break it off before Valentine’s Day. There’s never a good time to do it, so save everyone the price of the present. Send an Anti-Valentine’s Day Card which goes something like:

Roses are red, Violets are blue. This time it’s over; It’s not me, it’s you.

14 VALENTINE'S

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Forever alone GiGSoc launch Rainbow Week and Rainbow Ball 2015 By Rebecca Fisher As the dreaded February 14 rears its overly affectionate head once again, those of us who are our own better half must think of ways to overcome the bae-less blues. After coming to terms with my perpetual singledom, I managed to create a list of fool proof ways to ignore the excessive PDA and cooing couples you are bound to be seeing a lot of this Valentine’s. If you’ve resigned yourself to a Nicholas Sparks marathon and a tub of Tesco ice cream for the evening, like many of us have, this is the list for you. TREAT YO SELF: In the infamous words of Tom and Donna from Parks and Recreation, “treat yo self” to a well-deserved day of pampering and over indulgence. Valentine’s Day is a holiday dedicated to love so show yourself a bit of TLC and participate in “Treat Yo Self Day 2015”. Whether its splashing out on those concert tickets you’ve been eyeing up, splurging on that completely unnecessary but luscious dress you saw in Brown Thomas or spoiling your no carb diet with a Dominos order. I’ve got three words for you…treat yo self. 50 SHADES OF BAE: Regardless of your thoughts on the book of Fifty Shades of Grey and everything it stands for, you can’t refuse yourself the undeniable pleasure of seeing Jamie Dornan in a welltailored suit and most satisfyingly, without it, this Valentine’s Day. If raunchy romance isn’t your thing, a trip to the premiere screening could still brighten your day, what with all the middle aged women in “Mrs Christian Grey” t-shirts you are bound to be seeing. Love it or loathe it seeing Fifty Shades of Grey will ensure a few laughs this 14th so grab a group of friends and pig out in the luxury screen of the Eye Cinema. NETFLIX, NETFLIX AND MORE NETFLIX: Wherever you go on Valentine’s Day, you are bound to encounter loved up ladies and lads who can’t help but express how happy they are not to be single. To avoid this romantic phenomenon altogether, you are better off staying in bed with a bag of Doritos and the best that Netflix has to offer. Immerse yourself in the endless sea of political dramas and fantasy sensations then allow yourself to forget that romance is a thing that exists entirely. Whether you have sworn off relationships altogether or are desperately seeking the right person to no avail, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to consist of listening to your “Forever Alone” playlist and drowning your sorrows in ice cream. Show yourself some well-deserved love this February 14 and revel in all the money you’ll be saving on heart shaped chocolates and candle lit dinners.

GiGSoc [Gay in Galway Society] is delighted to host its third annual Rainbow Week, running from Monday 9 to Friday 13 February. The week will consist of numerous events to promote LGBTQA presence on campus, culminating in our pinnacle event, Rainbow Ball 2015. Rainbow Week strives to express and celebrate the diversity of people who identify as LGBTQA [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Ally] in a proud and visible manner. Our objective is to highlight the broad spectrum of gender and sexual identities that fall under the LGBTQA umbrella, and in doing so break down the stereotypes that exist around such identities. To this aim, we will host numerous workshops on Wednesday 11 Feb that will shed light on some of the areas often neglected in public discourse. Workshops will include Sexual Health, Trans 101 and LGBTQ and the Law. “Many of us on the Committee attended USI Pink Training in November,” remarks Jessica Watts, Events Officer for GiG Soc. “We got to hear

a number of useful talks on contemporary LGBTQ issues. With our workshops, we hope to bring that training to a wider audience on our campus.” The week will also encompass an Information Session on the new Marriage Equality Taskforce, in which GiG Soc will be collaborating with the NUI Galway Students’ Union in the upcoming Marriage Equality campaign. This session aims to get student volunteers to help promote a Yes vote in the upcoming Referendum on Same-Sex Marriage this May. Of course, the other major aim of Rainbow Week is to celebrate diversity, and that means having fun! And GiGSoc take fun seriously. We kicked off the week with the Rainbow Week Official Launch Party, which took place in the IT Building yesterday (Monday 9 Feb). Key to our social events is not only reaching out to LGBTQA people on campus, but also to increase collaboration between GiGSoc and other college societies. We have liaised with a number of societies such as DanSoc and Juggling Soc, and intend to work with as many as possible over the course of Rainbow Week.

Man’s Perfect Valentine’s Day By Michael Glynn On this most romantic of days everything is so focused on women that we could be forgiven for forgetting that men are involved at all. Well we decided that men should get more attention on this most holy of days. If you’re a single man and don’t know what to do for the day or an attached woman looking for ideas for your man then this is the article for you.

FOR THE SINGLE: Starting with the morning, I recommend getting up at a comfortable noon, actually, why not make it 2pm? It’s a Saturday after all, no need to stress yourself! Now, for breakfast. Ideally, I should be promoting a healthy and well balanced breakfast but come on, you know what you want, a dirty big steak. Don’t cook it for too long though, rare or medium rare (any longer in the pan

and steak is officially classified as leather). Now is the time to take relaxation to the tipping point of comatose. With that delicious cow meat washed down with a refreshing beverage nicely settling in your stomach, it’s time to lay back on the couch and flick on RTÉ2 to support our boys in green as they face off against France in the 6 Nations. After Ireland win, it is time to call the lads and do the only thing that comes naturally, a Fifa tournament (please remember, relaxation is key here, if one friend is known for scoring sweaty goals, don’t invite him). Snacks are essential, can’t go to sleep hungry. Pringles are your friend. Now that the fun’s been had, it’s time to go to bed.

FOR THE ATTACHED: The key to a perfect day is consistency of quality from start to finish, with that in mind, open your eyes, what’s that? A giant fried breakfast

Valentine's Day should be abolished By Kieran Kilkelly Valentine’s Day eh? A day of love and everything concerned with it. What a load of ol’… A money racket is all it is, that’s all, nothing more. It is essentially a "Hallmark holiday". Logically, there is no sense to the day. Couples give each other gifts and cards and whatnot that only last the day, or if you’re lucky maybe ‘til the day after. A two euro card bought along with flowers that begin to wilt as soon as you take them out of the shop, not to mention an overpriced box of chocolates that only really has two nice ones in it. What is so good and loving about that? There are also those stupid teddy bears holding aloft a heart with the words “I love you” or “I heart you” inscribed on it. What value have

they? Absolutely none, only commercial. I’m pretty sure when everything hits the fan later on in the relationship that the person won’t be holding onto it for sentimental value. What makes it different from any other day of the year anyway? All other celebratory holidays signify something. Christmas: the birth of Jesus. Easter: the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. Patrick’s Day: celebrating the fact that he got rid of all the snakes and the whole thing with him teaching Christianity through a shamrock. Yes, you might say St. Valentine himself died on February 14. But is encouraging carnal relations between couples really a way to celebrate the death of a Saint? ‘Cause that is ultimately what it all leads to. Chocolate is an aphrodisiac you know and everyone

The climactic event of the Week is our Rainbow Ball, which takes place on Thursday night [8th Feb] in the Clayton Hotel. Tickets are only €35 each, for which attendants receive wine on reception, a four-course gourmet meal, and a night full of entertainment including Galwegian drag act Kiki St. Clair. The Rainbow Ball is not only aimed at LGBTQA students from NUI Galway, but also students from LGBTQA societies in other universities and ITs. With this Ball we aspire to provide excellent social opportunities for both NUI Galway and non-NUI Galway students to liaise and improve networks across the wider LGBTQA community. Other Balls market themselves on being the most exclusive affair in the college social calendar – we prefer to have the inclusive Ball. Tickets for Rainbow Ball 2015 are still on sale and can be purchased through the SocsBox in Áras na Mac Léinn, or by contacting GiGSoc at gigsoc@socs.nuigalway.ie For full details on all our events, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

laid out nicely in front of you on a tray. Wow, isn’t your partner wonderful? After tearing into that wonderful gift I’d recommend getting up at noon, a nice lie in is needed for digestion. Upon arrival downstairs, the smell of cooking beckons you to the kitchen, my word that smells good, your favourite meal being prepared. Words escape you, this day couldn’t possibly get any better could it? It could! You spot a DVD case from the rental shop, that movie you can never convince her to watch! You notice the couch is set up with blankets and cushions for cuddling and there’s new ice cream in the freezer (the fancy stuff of course). Those are plans for tonight, for now it’s time for the rugby! They’ve called your friends and arranged where you are going to meet to watch the match. They’ve also made plans with their own friends so they can leave you in peace for a little while, so thoughtful. After the match, back at home the cuddling and movie commence, a perfect end to the day, or is it? Now that the fun’s been had it’s time to go to bed for more.

knows that chocolate is the official food of Valentine’s Day. Throw in a few candles and you’ve got full blown temptation. Religion aside, a full day devoted to love does sound a bit ridiculous. I mean, imagine being stuck in a room with a teenage couple going out for a week. The sniggering, the annoying playfulness of it all. Now that is you on Valentine’s Day with your other half except worse. The whole day is turned upside down, you can’t even go for a nice quiet pint in peace but there’s two people in the corner ruining the atmosphere of the local. All I know is, anyone that comes near me with a heart-shaped balloon, will have a broken heart-shaped balloon. The sooner this day comes and goes the better. It upsets the balance of the world; the whole scheme of things becomes out of sync. It’s a day that should be switched with February 29 and only happen once every four years, and even that’s too much.

VALENTINE'S 15

February 09 2015

Worst first dates ever The unfortunate part about the quest to find true love is all the frogs you have to kiss, or go on awful dates with, in order to find your prince. Here at Sin, we thought no Valentine’s Day would be complete without the opportunity to cringe at someone else’s expense. The contributors have chosen to remain anonymous to maintain their “street cred”.

THE TINDER DATE “I matched with this guy on tinder, he wasn't bad looking and the conversation flowed. So when he suggested going on a date I thought: "sure yeah, why not?”. Big mistake. I arrived late at the restaurant for the date and while scanning the place for the guy, I suddenly realised that I hadn't a clue what he looked like. I had vague recollections that he was tall-ish and blonde-ish but I couldn't remember for sure. The restaurant had no Wi-Fi so I didn’t have the chance to double check Tinder really quickly. It turned out that he was actually sitting at a table right in front of me all along and had seen me looking around for him. I apologized profusely when I finally recognised him but

the damage was done. The date didn’t last long and I never saw him again after that”.

THE BLIND DATE “My best friend fixed me up with one of the lads in her course and although I had no idea what this guy looked like, she assured me that he was “really nice”. He brought me to the cinema for our date which wasn’t great for talking but he seemed really excited to see the movie. I soon learned that he worked at that cinema so while he got in for free, I had to pay for myself. Already I wasn’t impressed. It also didn’t help that he left halfway through the film to go and see if the "lads needed any help". I was fuming walking out of the cinema to see him waving goodbye at me from behind the counter. Now anytime a guy suggests the cinema for a date I know better than to say yes”.

THE AWKWARD RUN-IN DATE “I had been talking to this girl over Facebook for a while so eventually I plucked up the courage

By Lisa Fogarty

to ask her out for drinks. We met at this nice pub in town and everything seemed to be going well until her ex-boyfriend walked in with another girl. She got all distracted after that and kept watching them for the duration of the date. I was feeling pretty peeved when she said that she just wanted to leave. After leaving the pub she burst into tears and revealed how she still loved her ex and wished she were still with him. I tried being supportive and comforted her best as I could as I walked her home like a gentlemen. But I never wrote to her again after that”.

THE DINE AND DASH DATE “I went on a date with this guy that a mutual friend of ours set me up with. As we had never met before, we talked about the basic stuff and I thought that everything was going well. After the food was all finished, he announced that he was going to pay the bill and he would be back in a few minutes. Ten minutes passed and he never returned. I realised what had happened when the waitress dropped the unpaid bill to the table. He had abandoned me in the restaurant and left me with the full bill to pay”.

Eight things you love more than your other half By Mark Laherty

1. THE PILE OF SNAKES THAT LIVE IN YOUR BEDROOM

3. DOCTOR WHO

6. FOREVER NECKLACES

Forget pesky intimacy and settle down for something a little less hot-blooded. Plus, snakes won’t take up the blanket unless they can climb in. Most snakes can climb, by the way. Some can even glide 100 feet through the air. Try not to think about that.

Fair enough, you can’t realistically expect your partner to be a time-travelling alien but they could at least make wry comments about robots or only have emotional conflict that can be resolved in 45 minutes or less or suddenly change into Peter Capaldi. You know what, even just the last one. Change into Peter Capaldi. That’d be just swell.

2. A HALLUCINATION OF YOUR OTHER HALF

4. EATING CHEESY FRIES IN THE RAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

That is, necklaces symbolising how you’ll be together forever, like an infinity loop. The only thing that’s infinite here is your mutual indecision and crippling fear of commitment. Really, the loop is a much more pertinent symbol of the circular arguments you’ve been having since the initial buzz of the relationship wore off.

Whether your relationship is ten days or ten years old, it is always wise to pause for self-reflection: when you hallucinate a ghostly spectre of your lover’s likeness, does it make you feel warm and fuzzy in a way their true self never could?

You were in your first year of college and you had forgotten to eat that day so you went for a takeout at 11pm. The melted cheese was warm and sticky on your fingers. You’d never really expected to treat your newfound independence responsibly but you thought you’d at least screw up in a cooler and sexier way. Those chips tasted better than any kiss ever had or ever will.

The only thing that’s infinite here is your mutual indecision and crippling fear of commitment. Do you engage in such captivating conversation with this hallucination that you consistently sink into an unbearable depression and long to experience altered reality forever? Does it make you flinch every time your lover puts an arm around you, as if you’re cheating on your real love: your hallucination?

5. VLADMIR PUTIN Well, okay, no. Not really, to be honest. Nobody has to know that. You’re not one to go with the crowd. Everything about you is funky and unique. The Russian leader is the perfect unsexy fantasy man to make yourself more interesting. Crack out a picture of him shirtless on a horse before your friends can ask “Is everything okay between you and Ronan?”

7. A CARDBOARD CUT-OUT OF RYAN GOSLING Who needs a warm-blooded human when you have a house full of inanimate objects to grow old and die with? Humans are scary. Objects are mild-mannered and approachable even when you’re crying. Just look at that silent, open, honest gaze. He loves you. He’s loved you forever, just like in The Notebook. If you’re a bird, he’s a bird! He wrote you a letter every day for a year!

8. A PLUGGED-IN BLENDER The whirring can easily sound like an argument. You have a project due next week and can’t come visit but the blender absolutely insists! You can’t stay mad for long. You two were made for one another. The blender just gets you.

True Love By John Brennan The candle light dances playfully across her. It’s quite dark, but she gleams in the dim light like a diamond in the rough. She looks wonderful; but to be fair, she always does. I’ve spent weeks meticulously planning this. This wonderful night I’ve in store for her. I lit those vanilla scented candles, closed those old rustic drapes, hovered, cleaned and tidied. This is perfect, well at least I think so. The time has finally come to show her how I feel. Is this not what this day is about? I’d always dreaded Valentine’s Day. Maybe it was the pomp, the bombast, the grandeur, the pretentiousness of these listless empty gestures. Something is different with her. I can’t place it, I can’t really explain it. Despite this, I’ve spent weeks wrestling with this. With us there is something unadulterated, something pure, something fresh, something innately real. I feel the connection, how could she not? She sits there, immovably vacant, is she bored? Did I pick the wrong film? Is the music off? Is it too much? God, these old insecurities rear their ugly heads as I begin this silent torturous reflection. This ruinous bout of second guessing. I stop. I breathe as deep as I can, feeling my lungs fill with a myriad of air, confidence and bravery. I glance towards her, conveying a nervousness I really don’t want to show. My hand strays towards her, but I bottle it. Jesus, I just want her to see how special she is to me, how perfect, she is perfect. God, she smells beautiful. “A florally bouquet,” I mutter quietly, she doesn’t hear it over the volume of the film. Love Actually was a good choice I think as she sits, inexplicably beautiful in her stoic silence. I broach the idea of reaching out to her, to touch her, to take her in my hand. My head is a maelstrom of worry, doubt and lust. She smells incredible; it’s probably my favourite smell of all time. It’s better than cut grass, diesel, coffee or any other aromas I’ve ever experienced. She is the best pizza I’ve ever ordered. The hesitancy dies, I reach out and grab a slice. Smoked Chicken, Chilli, Lime, Tomato, Oregano and Cheese mingle in that first lustful bite. How did I restrain myself for so long? I love her, she is perfect. Thin base, light and joyfully crispy. The tingle of Chilli bites the back of my throat, the lime’s sweetness dances playfully off of my tongue. I’m lost for words. I bow at the altar of her magnificence. She is everything I’ve ever wanted. I reach out methodically for my bottle of beer. I unscrew the cap with my hands, soft from the heat of that first lustful slice. The jagged edges of the cap irritate my skin, but I’m in no way vexed by this. This night is as perfect as she is to me. This is simply the best Valentine’s Day ever.

THE SU PAGES SHAG (SEXUAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND GUIDANCE) WEEK 2015

AN TSEACHTAIN UM FHEASACHT AGUS THREOIR AR AN TSLÁINTE GHNÉIS, 2015 MONDAY 9TH OF FEBRUARY/DÉ LUAIN, AN 9 FEABHRA

FRIDAY 13TH OF FEBRUARY/DÉ HAOINE, AN 13 FEABHRA

12pm-3pm SHAG Packs and more at Smokey’s

Early Valentine’s Day Rolos and Roses

8pm SeX Rated Comedy Hypnotist Michael McCoy in the O’Flaherty Theatre. Tickets ¤5

ALL WEEK Guess correctly how many condoms are in the jar and you could win them all! Entry ¤1 which goes to the SU Charities Console & BeLonG To.

TUESDAY 10TH OF FEBRUARY/DÉ MÁIRT, AN 10 FEABHRA 11am-3pm Cope Galway Information Stand at Smokey’s 8pm Tinder Tuesday in the College Bar

SHAG Packs will be available all week from the SU Office, the SU Engineering Desk and the Welfare Crew around Campus.

WEDNESDAY 11TH OF FEBRUARY/DÉ CÉADAOIN, AN 11 FEABHRA 11am-3pm USI SHAG Week Roadshow in Smokey’s

Beidh pacáistí SHAG ar fáil ó thús deireadh na seachtaine ó Oifig an Chomhaltais, ó Dheasc Innealtóireachta an Chomhaltais agus ón gCriú Leasa ar fud an champais.

1pm-4pm SHAG Week Workshop in the Large Acoustic Room, Áras na Mac Léinn THURSDAY 12TH OF FEBRUARY/DÉARDAOIN, AN 12 FEABHRA

More information from su.welfare@nuigalway.ie

8pm The Dirty Circus Comedy, Burlesque, Cabaret and Sauciness in the College Bar. FREE event. Prizes for best dressed.

Tuilleadh eolais ar fáil ó su.welfare@nuigalway.ie 559 Croagh Patrick Climb Poster.pdf

Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week 2015

16/01/2015

14:46

NUI Galway Students’ Union

CHARITY CROAGH PATRICK CLIMB

An tSeachtain um Fheasacht agus Threoir ar an tSláinte Ghnéis, 2015

with NUI Galway Mountaineering Club

Dreapadh Chruach Phádraig Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn, OÉ Gaillimh

AR MHAITHE LE CARTHANACHTAÍ i gcomhar le Club Sléibhteoireachta OÉ Gaillimh

Saturday 28th February 2015 Dé Sathairn, an 28 Feabhra 2015 C

SHAG

CMY

Monday 9th of February/Dé Luain, an 9 Feabhra

12pm-3pm SHAG Packs and more at Smokey’s 8pm SeX Rated Comedy Hypnotist Michael McCoy in the O’Flaherty Theatre. Tickets €5

Tuesday 10th of February/Dé Máirt, an 10 Feabhra 11am-3pm Cope Galway Information Stand at Smokey’s 8pm Tinder Tuesday in the College Bar

Wednesday 11th of February/ Dé Céadaoin, an 11 Feabhra 11am-3pm USI SHAG Week Roadshow in Smokey’s 1pm-4pm SHAG Week Workshop in the Large Acoustic Room, Áras na Mac Léinn

Thursday 12th of February/Déardaoin, an 12 Feabhra 8pm The Dirty Circus in the College Bar. FREE event. Prizes for best dressed.

Friday 13th of February/Dé hAoine, an 13 Feabhra Early Valentine’s Day Rolos and Roses

All Week

Guess correctly how many condoms are in the jar and you could win them all! Entry €1 which goes to the SU Charities Console & BeLonG To. SHAG Packs will be available all week from the SU Office, the SU Engineering Desk and the Welfare Crew around Campus. Beidh pacáistí SHAG ar fáil ó thús deireadh na seachtaine ó Oifig an Chomhaltais, ó Dheasc Innealtóireachta an Chomhaltais agus ón gCriú Leasa ar fud an champais.

More information from su.welfare@nuigalway.ie Tuilleadh eolas ar fáil: su.welfare@nuigalway.ie www.su.nuigalway.ie

facebook.com/NUIGalwayStudentsUnion

twitter.com/NUIGSU

Sign up now in the Students’ Union, Engineering Building & the Sports Centre. Cláraigh anois in Oifig Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn, san Fhoirgneamh Innealtóireachta agus san Ionad Spóirt. Raise €40 (minimum) to take part Entry includes free t-shirt & bus! All proceeds go to the SU Charities: Console and BeLonG To. The Croagh Patrick Climb is a fun event open to all students and staff of all capabilities! www.su.nuigalway.ie

facebook.com/NUIGalwayStudentsUnion

twitter.com/NUIGSU

18 VALENTINE'S Single-spotting for dummies By Hazel Doyle What are the singletons sporting this Valentine’s Day? There is a particular style that makes it easy to distinguish because those with requited and unrequited love every Valentine’s Day. Those lucky enough to have someone to hold at this lonely time of year will undoubtedly be sporting a natural glow. No, I’m afraid that this cannot be achieved with mere make-up, though it can be poorly mimicked with Benetint Highlighter and a forced smile. For those plodding through the Month of Lurve alone, tell-tale give-aways of lacking another half, are chocolate-stained lips acquired while watching Bridget Jones, and greasy spots in the chin area, from eating take-aways, too beaten down by life to even attempt beans on toast. A tip that a lot of singletons should take on board is to come on heavy with the eye make-up. While red lipstick might bring a touch of glamour to an otherwise lonely life, it’s altogether too easy to end up with mascara cheeks, as tears flow from watery eyes. Investing some time into eye make-up will ensure there is something to help hold the tears back, not ruining that smoky-eye effect being of absolute importance. Singletons tend to be forcing nail-varnish trends forward this year, wearing bright, florescent summery shades. It’s almost as if they are willing time to move forward and bypass this exclusively couple-y holiday. For day-wear the majority of singletons in and around NUI Galway are sporting their baggiest clothes. All that working out in January has been a total waste, as the comfort eating reaches a pitch, and ‘sweat-pants are all that fit’ right now. Many singletons will claim college-pride, by wearing a class hoodie, or wearing a county jersey, but in reality, they are grasping at what makes them feel part of something. Our coupled-up collegians are wearing instead, cute T-shirts and jeans. They wear a minimal amount of make-up and have started to test the weather, by rolling up the legs of their skinnies. They, unlike their single friends, have bothered to shave their legs. Night-time looks on February 14 are distinctly split into those with and those without a loved one. Couples will be spending the evening together, so fashion tends to be relevant to the activity on the menu, such as a cute pink dress if going out for a meal. Lonely people will be suffering from low selfesteem and so will be slapping on the war-paint. Despite the chill in the air, if braving a night out, the legs will be out, bearing nothing but some Sally Hanson. High heels and high hair will be in order, as singletons try to display confidence. Donuts and gels for your shoes are an absolute must on any single gal’s last-minute trip to Penneys. Clothes will be the most revealing that the February Fitness Slump can allow, with magic sucky-inny undies an absolute must. This will ultimately result in discomfort as singletons loose hope at around 1.30am and head over to the nearest take-away. So there you have it. Singletons, don’t despair. It’ll soon be all over for another year. Keep the summery nail-varnish to hand.

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

TUTORIAL: Red eye makeup look By Ashley Healy That time of the year is coming up again where we are reminded that we are still single but not to worry, at least we can purchase our one true love – chocolate (and for much cheaper the day after). Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day! Even if you are single there’s still no reason not to celebrate it! Follow these simple steps for the perfect red eye look to wear without it looking like you’ve been crying your eyes out the night before.

STEP 3:

STEP 6:

Blend the dark brown colour into your red colour with a blending brush.

Once you are happy with the look of your eyeshadow you can then apply your favourite eyeliner. Make your line however thick or thin you would like. You can then curl your lashes before applying your mascara with an eyelash curler. This will open your eye even further and create the illusion of longer lashes.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Eyeshadow primer (optional), lighter nude eyeshadow, burgundy red colour eyeshadow (any red not too bright), Dark brown eyeshadow, black eye shadow, your favourite mascara, eyeliner and false lashes (optional)

STEP 1:

STEP 4:

Start off by first applying an eyeshadow primer, this will allow your eyeshadow to be more vibrant in colour and it will stay in place all day. I like to use Urban Decays Eyeshadow Primer Potion. After you have completed this then apply your light eyeshadow colour on your inner tear duct, a little along the lower lash line and on your brow bone. This will open up the eye, add brightness and make your eyes appear bigger. I used the colour “virgin” from my Naked Palette (The first one)

Very carefully start adding your black eyeshadow into the outer V shape of your eye. Remember: a little goes along way when applying black eyeshadow so carefully keep adding to it to build up the colour. Blend the black eyeshadow in with the brown eyeshadow. You and also add more brown eyeshadow to blend further if you feel that you have added too much black.

STEP 2:

STEP 5:

Next, apply your red eyeshadow to the centre of your eyelid and blend with the previous lighter colour. Make sure to not put this all over the lid as it will be harder to blend with darker colours in further steps.

Further blend the colours into each other and add more brown into the crease of your eye. Add a little black eyeshadow also under your lower lash line to give the appearance of fuller bottom lashes.

FINAL STEP: For the final step all mascara and false lashes if you prefer! You can also add black eyeliner to your waterline also but if you would prefer to have the appearance of bigger eyes do not apply any.

Hopefully this tutorial at least made some time go by on this depressing day for those of you who are single, and if you’re not it can be something small to impress your man on this day.

VALENTINE'S 19

February 09 2015

Shift and Drift: The Galway Player’s Guide to Dating in Ireland By Jessica Thompson If you’re looking for a date this Valentine’s Day, it might be worth reading Shift and Drift, by controversial, self-proclaimed ‘dating expert’, the Galway Player.

Shift and Drift: The Galway Player’s Guide to Dating in Ireland is “a modern guide to dating in Ireland as I see it”, according to the Galway Player himself. He told Sin; “Shift and Drift takes you through all stages of the dating scene, from a typical night out in Ireland to the challenges and opportunities brought about by modern technology.” With chapters on dating apps such as Tinder, the art of drunk texting, fashion and self-confidence, Shift and Drift aims to be a guide for both men and women who are currently in the dating scene in Galway and, indeed, the rest of Ireland.

It’s written from the point of view of the Galway Player himself, but there are one or two tips that all the single ladies might be able to take on board. The Galway Player is known around Galway for his somewhat controversial comments on Twitter, where he currently has more than ten thousand followers, and his column in the Galway Independent, entitled Single and the City. “I decided to begin writing as the Galway Player because of my observations on nights out. All single people spend endless hours discussing dating and relationships; I’ve just taken it to another level. I look at dating as being like a sport; if you practice and analyse it, you can improve,” he said. His own reputation has grown since he started writing, but whether it can be considered a good reputation or a bad one changes from person to person; beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.

But judging by his Twitter followers and the response to his book, he is certainly leaving an impression wherever he goes. “The response has been tremendous. People genuinely seem to be enjoying [the book] and appreciate my perspective and sales have exceeded expectations despite the huge competition at Christmas. I'm already being asked when the next book is out,” he said. So what is next for the Galway Player? “My next venture is into the world of men’s fashion blogging. I've always been very interested in fashion and looking well so I'm going to try to educate the men of Ireland. The current crop of undergraduates are very style-conscious and I intend to be the role model for those guys,” he said. To keep up to date with his antics, follow @GalwayPlayer on Twitter. Shift and Drift is available in all popular bookshops in Galway.

Love Stories Love is a wonderful thing By Dean Buckley To paraphrase Jack Black’s character in the somehow iconic 00s movie School of Rock, love is a wonderful thing, love is a really cool thing, so let’s get off our ass and do some love, love, love, love, love, love. There are a lot of kinds of love, and even though I’m in a very long-term committed relationship, I think it’s really stupid that we only celebrate romantic love on Valentine’s Day, especially since it’s not even a tradition The holiday was literally invented to sell cards. Obviously, that doesn’t make it not a holiday or not a cultural institution, but I think it makes it a bit more flexible of an institution than, say, Halloween. Valentine’s Day should be a day when we celebrate not just romantic love, but platonic love, familial love and even love of self. And also, while we’re at it, how about some goddamn literature that celebrates those things because I am so sick of romance. The constant sense of obligation to include romantic/sexual/erotic love as an important element of literary works is doing more to destroy literature than any thousand e-book readers could ever manage in their entire existence. First of all, because asexual and aromantic people exist, and their experiences should be portrayed in literature as much as anyone’s. Second of all, because there are lots of non-asexual and non-aromantic people who also just don’t ever have a partner or an epic romance or whatever, because they have other things going on, or they just don’t want to, and not just because they’re bad at getting it when they want to either. But, most importantly, because it seems like there exists no writers with the capacity to write a nuanced and compelling examination of a

sexual or romantic relationship, so they do a terrible job anyway, and therefore even if there were loads of reasons why we need them to be such a focus of literature, clearly writers can’t do that right as it stands. The reason I’m writing about this isn’t just because I had to write a column about love for Valentine’s Day. In fact, I don’t think I did. But I had to write this column because I just watched the happiest television show ever, Parks and Recreation. And after watching five and half seasons of the show in three days (I skipped the first, got it summarised for me), I’ve realised how much we are missing stories about friendship from our lives, and I really am not counting anything by Joss Whedon as a story about friendship right now, because begrudging friends don’t count enough anymore. No, we’ve let ourselves get stuck in a rut with an excess of focus on sexual and romantic relationships in the media we consume. I’m just bored by it all, and I doubt I’m the only one. How rare is it to find any story, be it book, film, television show, play, video game or web series, where their portrayal of even romantic love is any bit challenging? Too rare. We need more literature likes Parks & Rec, where Ben and Leslie’s romantic relationship is so great because they are also each other’s best friends, and the cancelledtoo-soon superhero TV classic No Ordinary Family, where the focus on romantic love within a familial context is actually constructed well and presented cleverly. See, we can still get our dose of romance while giving other forms of love their due. Also, yes, this column is a not-so-veiled way of me saying that I’ve concluded television is the best form of literature ever conceived. Buckley out.

By Cupid McLovin’ As Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, our undercover Love Detective Cupid McLovin’ interviewed some of our very own Sinions and asked them to share their love stories to celebrate the romantic holiday. The following lovey dovey content may be unsuitable for readers of a lonely and menstrual disposition or those recently separated from their one true love.

ESSICA THOMPSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, revealed that contrary to the words of Rihanna, that you can find love in a hopeful place. That place being Mr Waffle; “when I became the editor of Sin, John Mulry asked me if he could write a column. “I met him in Mr Waffle to discuss the column and it was love at first sight, though we only spoke every fortnight when he submitted his column. One day, he cycled past me on the Salmon Weir Bridge and texted me. We decided to meet for coffee and after that we made excuses to meet more regularly. “Our first kiss was short and sweet in my office. We’ve been together ever since; he’s written a column for every single issue of Sin since I became editor.”

ARK LAHERTY, WRITER FOR SIN and the only Irish man to confess he has romantic feelings for this exclusive article, admits that there can be upsides to the constant downpour of rain we are subjected to here in Ireland; “quarter to ten in the evening, it started pouring rain all of a sudden. “I dived under an archway with someone I sort of knew by sight. Since we were stuck there, we ended up properly talking for the first time and after only ten minutes we had kind of accidentally kissed? I don’t know how but we sure did.

“I barely knew her second name. It was near-Disney levels of ‘Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, so let’s commit’ but it was the longest and happiest relationship I’ve had.”

UR FEATURES EDITOR, Áine O Donnell’s romantic tale is just like a stereotypical rom-com only with much less cheesy eye-gazing and many more thick Donegal accents; “I’ve known KP for as long as I remember. We went to the same primary school and have lived in the same town all our lives. “We’ve been going out since we were 18 after we became good friends attending the Gaeltacht on Arranmore Island. “He goes to university in the UK so we have been doing the long distance thing for close to four years. It’s awful hard work most of the time but on the upside you have great peace. “We like to watch Don’t Tell the Bride and Wheeler Dealers together because compromise is fundamental to every relationship.”

INALLY, CHELSEA TABERT, editor of all national and international news, concedes that while love can be scary that it is most definitely worth it; “I’ve fallen in and out of lust before but never had I been in love – until him. Call me naïve but love is the strongest feeling of them all. “It makes you crazy. He’s not perfect, nor is he the most attentive listener but love is whole-heartedly accepting and loving someone’s imperfections. Not a day goes by where I don’t fall more in love. “It’s terrifying thinking that someone, somewhere is meant for you forever. It’s even scarier knowing that one day, months, years or decades from now you’ll have to live without them. “If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.”

20 VALENTINE'S

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Dining in for Valentine’s Day

ITH VALENTINES ON THE HORIZON, why not treat that special someone to some amazing home cooking? These dishes are simple, cheap and they taste great! If you’re looking to do all three it’ll cost you between €2530. But hey you’ll be gaining loads of points for your amazing cooking skills. Give them a shot and be sure to leave room for desert!

SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD This smoked chicken salad is easy to prepare, the ingredients are cheap and it tastes great! Another handy thing about it is that if you prepare too much you can always pop it into the fridge once it’s cool and have it for lunch the next day. Depending on what you have on your shelf, the ingredients (including the optional ones) will cost around 12.5015.00.

Ingredients: • 3-5 chicken mini fillets • Smoked Paprika • Salt and Pepper • ¼ Cucumber • A Red and a Yellow Pepper • 2 Little Gem Lettuce • Salad Dressing of Choice • Olive Oil and Sea Slat Croutons (or plain, flavour them yourself in a pan) • Mix of seeds, nuts and fruit (preferably raisins) (optional) • Cherry Tomatoes (optional) • Sweetcorn (optional) Method: 1. Sparingly oil a pan and leave to heat on a low setting. 2. Add the chicken fillets with a pinch of salt and pepper and lightly add about 2-3 pinches of smoked paprika to them. 3. Prepare your salad by cutting the cucumber, peppers and cherry tomatoes into bite size portions. Remember to rinse beforehand. 4. Watch the chicken and turn it over and add another light sprinkle of smoked paprika to the underside and leave to cook through. 5. Rinse and tear the lettuce and add it with the already prepared salad into a bowl.

Add any optional pieces now too, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn etc.) 6. Drizzle 4-5 tablespoons of salad dressing onto the salad and ensure it is well mixed. 7. Grind up some cashew nuts and add them with some raisins into the salad bowl. 8. Once the chicken is cooked through, add some croutons to the pan (they’ll soak up some of the flavour and go great with the salad) and eave for another 1-2 minutes 9. Take the chicken from the pan and cut into bite size portions and add to the bowl. 10. Serve and enjoy!

HOMEMADE CHILLI CON CARNE WITH TORTILLA CHIPS This is a great, simple fun dish to show off those cooking skills. It’s also fantastic for finding out the palette of that special someone. If they’re

not into hot food, just use some mild chilli. The tortilla chips make it rather quirky too. One note is to try to wear some plastic gloves when chopping the garlic, cause hey who likes garlic-smelling hands? Ingredients: • 1 onion (chopped) • 2 cloves of garlic (chopped) • 500g of mince • Flour (1 tablespoon) • 250ml beef stock • Tomato puree • 350g chopped tomatoes • 1-2 teaspoons of hot/mild chilli powder • 1-2 teaspoons of dried oregano • 1 large green pepper (chopped) • 250g of red kidney beans • 300g basmati rice • Bag of tortilla chips Method: 1. In a pan, heat some oil and after 1-2 minutes, add your chopped onion and chopped garlic to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. 2. Add your mince to the pan. After a few minutes once the mince is ¾ cooked add 3 good tablespoons of tomato puree, your beef stock, tomatoes, chilli powder and oregano. Add

Career Options with Arts – Fair Tuesday 24th February

5pm 6pm – 8pm

Arts Millennium Building Presentations from past graduates

My BA – A foundation for a fulfilling career

FAIR – meet Arts graduates and employers – get insights into a range of career options

By Tom Garavan

some flour now too (about a tablespoon), sprinkle it over the top and ensure everything is well mixed. 3. After it had been brought to the boil and the mince is thoroughly cooked, bring it to a simmer. Now is the time to see that the taste is to your liking, if you want it hotter add a little more chilli powder. Cover the pan and leave it to simmer gently for 30minutes. 4. Cook the rice as the packet instructs (if its 15 minutes, pop it in after the chilli has been simmering for 15 also). 5. After 20 minutes, fire your pepper and kidney beans into the chilli mix and leave to cook for the final 10 minutes. 6. Once the chilli has simmered for 30minutes (if there is too much liquid still in the pan, drain it off to your liking), serve it up alongside the rice. 7. Grab your tortilla chips and enjoy!

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH RASPBERRY AND STRAWBERRY COULIS On to the fun stuff! This cheesecake is a great way to show off those cooking skills and hey, who doesn’t like cheesecake? A nice buttery biscuit base topped with a mouth-watering topping with a white chocolate aftertaste that will have you coming back for seconds. With the coulis you can also add a nice Valentines theme design of your choice. Expect to have orders to make this again. Side note: For those who don’t have a spring form tin; some of these can be pretty expensive, so if you can find a nice cheap one go ahead and grab it. If not, what you can do is purchase a cheap cheesecake (cheap Tesco ones are okay) which already has a simple plastic one inside. Pop out that cheesecake, clean out the spring form case and hey presto, you have your own!

Ingredients: • 400g of soft cheese • 200ml double cream • 250g white chocolate • 200g digestive biscuits • 100ml melted butter • 150g caster sugar • 200g raspberries • 100g strawberries METHOD: 1. Pop the digestive biscuits into a freezer bag and crush them up into fine crumbs. Next put them into a bowl with the melted butter. Mix them together then place them into a spring form tin (check out the beginning notes if you don’t have one of these). Spread the mix evenly and push down onto it firmly to create a nice base. Once that is done pop it into the fridge to set. 2. In a large bowl mix the soft cheese with the caster sugar. (Now would be a good time to melt your chocolate) 3. In another bowl whip the double cream until it begins to form a lightly thick texture. 4. Add your melted chocolate and whipped cream to your earlier soft cheese mixture and fold through. 5. Once this is well mixed pour it over the digestive base made earlier and then leave it in the fridge to set. For the raspberry and strawberry coulis: 1. Put your raspberries and strawberries into a saucepan of water (not too much, enough to cover ½ of the fruit. Add 2 teaspoons of caster sugar and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. 2. Soon you’ll be able to break up the fruit so it is easy to mush. 3. Next you want to get all the seeds out of the mix, so strain it, I used a tea strainer, or use any small strainer to collect the seeds. 4. Do so and add more caster sugar (a little at a time) until it forms a nice syrupy texture. 5. Leave to cool and voila! Pop it onto the cheesecake once it has cooled into your design of choice. Enjoy! For more cooking ideas and tips watch out on Twitter for @TGaravan.

VALENTINE'S 21

February 09 2015

BEARDED BACKPACKER: A Romantic Backpack By John Brennan So it’s approaching Valentine’s Day and I’m not the biggest fan of this Hallmark condoned holiday. Alas, if you feel it necessary to declare your love through an annual gesture, then a delectable meal from half the world away may be the thing that bags you your prospective love’s love. Thai Red Curry is the quintessential ‘I’m-in-love-with-you, let’s-sweat-togetherin-a-way-you-probably-weren’t-expecting’ dish. It’s flavoursome, spicy and aromatic in all the ways you wish you were. So I’ll give you the run down on how to conjure the meal that could turn a subpar evening into the night your dreams are made of. WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

3 Chicken breasts 1 Chilli 3 cloves of Garlic 1 Red and Yellow Pepper 4 Mushrooms 1 Courgette 1 Aubergine

1 Can of Coconut Milk 1 Jar of Blue Dragon Red Curry Paste 1 and ½ cups of Basmati Rice I’LL WALK YOU THROUGH THIS.

1. Chop up your vegetables finely. 2. Slice up the chicken into strips. 3. Get a wok, add a little oil to it and allow it to heat up 4. Then add your chillis and garlic. Let’s them fry up. 5. Now add ½ the Jar of sauce. 6. Next toss in the chicken, leave it start to whiten 7. Add the coconut milk before dropping the heat down to about half of its full potential. 8. Stir it gently allowing the sauces combine. 9. Add in the rest of the Vegetables and leave to cook on a low temperature for about 40 minutes. 10. Cook the rice, if you’re feeling brazen squeeze in half a lime into the water. 11. When the vegetables are suitably soft and delectable get ready to devour.

12. Plate up everything. 13. Open up a drink and light some candles. 14. Scoff the lot and woo each other. There you have it. A meal of huge potential, it’s a spicy dish, hence why I said half the jar, if you can handle the spice; add the full jar.

It’ll put hair on your chests. For dessert have some form of ice-cream, it’ll take the bite out of the chilli and is positively woo-tastic. A romantic backpack-endorsed meal, courtesy of the Bearded Backpacker.

Hallmark and the two types of love By John Brennan The beard doesn’t do Hallmark holidays. None of this gratuitous conglomerate backed love day. No sir. I have no room in my heart for anything else other than my lusciously groomed beard. If you think otherwise, then you my friend haven’t been reading these bimonthly columns carefully enough. I say this entirely with tongue in cheek. I am not that egotistically minded to have written off an entire spectrum of emotions based on my dislike of a day sanctioned so as to relieve you of your fiscal responsibilities. Valentine’s Day is an abomination; it’s corporate sanctioned day to blow wads of cash on flowers, ignored teddy bears and other saccharine gifts that no one in their right mind would ever actually appreciate. If you insist on declaring your want-away love on just a single day of the year you probably don’t deserve the affection of another person. Love is a 365 preoccupation, not just grand gestures one day of the year. Our generation’’s increasingly Orwellian obsession with letting the internet know where they are and what they are doing at any given time is utterly baffling. I’m guilty of this too, to an extent. This has heaped increasing pressure on both guys and girls to be seen to be to be living a sparkling, awesome life through the lens of social media. This is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the plethora of other exercises in futility. People need to be seen to be making grand gestures. This is some perverse form of self-aggrandisement. Save your goddam money, thoughtless trinkets aren’t going to win their hearts. It may produce morale-boosting, egomassaging facebook likes, but is that how you want to live your life? Through the glaring lens of online scrutiny?

Why should one have to act like a sanctimonious prat and catalogue everything I do for another just to cultivate likes? We all know someone who is the perennially popular facebooker, who exudes the kind of online cool that a Chuck Norris-Fonz hybrid could only dream of. Here comes the shock. These people are totally different in real life. Being genuine becomes being genuinely false. This pseudo-holiday is the calendar version of this nonsense. You’d like to make a grand gesture to prove your undying endearing love? One that will conquer all things, and maybe even outshine the sun? Here’s an idea. Treat your other half (prospective or otherwise) the same all year round. Consistency is at the heart of love. If you consistently try and grow a beard, odds are your consistency will pay off. People remember nice things, of course they do; they’re people. We all love nice things. The beard just ponders over why exactly this needs to be done in a way that glorifies something genuine and costs you hefty amounts in the process. Everything you need to know about love is summed up in a letter John Steinbeck wrote to his son addressing the tumultuous and turbulent times encompassed in one’s first fleeting flirtation with love. “There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you— of kindness, consideration and respect … The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second kind can release strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.” Where do you think buying him/her that teddy bear fits in?

RESEARCH STARTS NOW

19th March 2015

The First Ever NUI Galway Undergraduate Research Conference

Engage students & staff in a collaborative multidisciplinary conference environment nurturing vital research skills in presentation, communication & dissemination

Bailey Allen Hall, Aras na Mac Leinn All undergraduates welcome to participate @NuigConf undergradconference@nuigalway.ie

22 LIFESTYLE

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Fashion Blurring the Gender Lines

RETRO REWIND: 1950s Style Spotter By Áine Leech ÁINE LEECH Jacket – Zara Scarf – belongs to my mother Top – New Look Jeans – Penneys Shoes – Dunnes What would you wear on a first date? - A day dress and flats.

By Fiona Lynch and Jenna Hodgins The 1950s was the most, dare I say it, iconic decades of fashion of which its timelessness continues to inspire modern day trends. This era saw beyond a strict agenda of uniformed dos and don’ts and saw the emergence the subcultures and its fashion-identity.

CONOR LEECH Jumper – Bershka Jeans – H&M Shoes - Burton What would you wear on a first date? - Nice shirt and jumper with chinos.

HAIR & MAKE-UP:

FIONA LYNCH Shirt - Ms Selfridge Jeans - Bershka Jacket – H&M Boots: TK Maxx. What would you wear on a first date? - Something similar to what I'm wearing, nice and casual.

FIONA LYNCH

The landscape of fashion changed forever with various shapes and sizes, textures and cuts, now available in all realms of attire. From swing skirts to wiggle dresses, leather jackets to Levi jeans – the fifties was melting pot for fashion eras to come. How about this Valentine’s Day impressing that dreamboat with your petticoat? Or perhaps embodying bad-boy James Dean - showing how you can hack-it in that leather jacket!

ÁINE LEECH

CONOR LEECH

The fifties were all about the cateye and red lip. Similar to the looks of the 1940s, the fifties just added that extra ‘oomph’ with bolder shades and more sultry eyes inspired by the iconic pinup models of the time. There are tonnes of tutorials online to help you achieve this look, just search “1950s make-up tutorial” and you’ll get 253,000 results in 0.32 seconds! As for hair, once again very similar to the 1940s. Post-war styles such as victory rolls, and

By Lisa Fogarty

pin-curls were still very much prevalent. I’d recommend following a YouTube tutorial for these looks as they can be quite tricky to follow from text. The channel we recommended last issue, ‘thecherrydollface’, will have plenty of 1950s pin-up hair looks, and easy to follow tutorials. Men’s hairstyles were equally if not more important that the ladies’. Like come on, you have seen Grease, right? This shiny slick back looks were called Pompadour. ‘Alantowersx’ YouTube channel includes a great 5 minute tutorial (‘ROCKABILLY POMPADOUR) you can do straight after a shower.

Fashion has always stepped a toe or two over the boundaries that define what men and women should wear. However, gender neutral fashion is now more prominent than ever. Fashion icons such as David Bowie, Diane Keaton and Grace Jones have never been afraid to experiment with style and have been blurring the lines of gender neutral fashion since the 1970s. This gender neutral fashion trend has been accepted as mainstream, and has been seen on both the high street and on the catwalk. The department store, Selfridges, has announced that it will now stock gender neutral fashion lines for both men and women in their Oxford Street store. It will axe three floors of separate men and women's clothing sections in order to make way for the new gender neutral collections. Selfridges are also promoting mixed gender beauty products

CLOTHING: 1. Topshop - ¤64 2. Topshop - ¤64 3. Miss Selfridge ¤10 (online sale) 4. Miss Selfridge - ¤39 5. River Island - ¤20 6. River Island - ¤60 7. Topshop - ¤29 8. Claire's Hair Rollers - ¤6.99

and accessories. Selfridges have launched five unisex collections and 'agender' pieces from 40 of their regular brands. They are planning remove male and female mannequins in window displays and instead will dress the windows with fashion in a non-gender specific way. Selfridges believe that people no longer wish to be distinguished by their gender when choosing their clothing. Limitations surrounding fashion are being pushed daily by the younger generations and the department store are aware that defining fashion by gender has no place in modern society. The heads at the departm e nt st o re d e c i d e d t o introduce these unisex collections when they noticed an increase in women buying from the menswear section. Masculine tailoring and loose fitted clothing trends inspired by androgynous collections such as Vivienne Westwood and Eastie Empire at last year’s Autumn Winter (AW14) fashion shows. The unisex line Boy London surged in popularity when Rihanna wore pieces from their line further blurring the line between men and women's fashion. Elliott Sailors, who models for both menswear and womenswear lines, has also been promoting gender neutral fashion. The Agender Project will launch in Selfridges on 12 March 2015.

Those embarrassing fashion trends we know you bought into By Cathy Lee Admit it – we’re all guilty of buying into the odd trend that we know will be short-lived. I’m here writing this as a representative of those clothes and accessories you’ve shoved to the back of your wardrobe. Remember them? Although most likely dusty and possibly a little overworn, they still represent a part you played in the ever-growing concept of what is fashionable. I’m going to quickly run through what those old trends consisted of and maybe refresh your memory a little bit. Ready for this blast from your fashion past? Let’s go; #Flawless. Hashtags

on t-shirts, remember that? How cool you really were for wearing a ‘#YOLO’ t-shirt or hoodie, such a rebel child. Now it has to be noted that all fashion trends start out as original but they soon become faded into an overwhelming trend. The meme of ‘No mom this is not a phase this is who I really am’ comes to mind. We all witness when the cheaper clothes stores jump on the ‘oh this is selling well’ bandwagon and over-produce the product so us consumers can get our supply of ‘#YOLO’ t-shirts to our hearts content. At this point though I wouldn’t be content to wear

my #YOLO t-shirt and I’m sure you feel the same way too. Since we recently said goodbye to 2014, it’s important to reflect and see what we learned from that year of fashion: Apparently it is okay for guys to wear a bun and a huge beard as long as they remember that yes, they have bought into this trend. Also we saw the girls get back into chokers again, now for me I would preferably not voluntarily ‘choke’ myself for the sake of fashion, and I hope you agree. Suffering for the sake of fashion has been happening for centuries so don’t feel overly original for your case there. I think it’s clear to see around

college that people do try desperately hard to be original and that’s why fashion trends change rapidly as we continue to explore these fashion boundaries. I wonder if you still have your moustache necklace, or those multi-coloured band-bracelets? Honestly though there’s more than one way to suffer in terms of experiencing fashion. Remember the really short shorts? Like the ones that should have been illegal because of the amount of the indecent exposure they brought about. Let’s just take crocs and jellyshoes out of the picture because nobody likes those images shudder.

Also when we all had to get a skater-skirt, did any of us stop to think whether in fact we were or were ever going to be a skater? Or when you judged your self-worth on how many multicoloured tutus you had just to prove how much of a ‘random’ and creative person you were. I like to think that people should just accept the fact that we all have creativity within ourselves and we don’t need a fashion statement to make that point. Fair enough fashion is also about expression of self but can we please just stop the harsh judgement we give people looking only at what they wear and accessorise with.

Fashion isn’t awful, it’s something we all have to experience whether good or bad because it’s reality. I know you might think those bits you keep to the very back of the wardrobe should be kept there but maybe that’s not necessarily the case. Why not take them out again for a spin? You could really be original then because who would be wearing the old trends again since they’ve been replaced. It can also be a nice reminder even just to have a laugh at. So whatever your relationship with fashion, I wish you all the best of luck with this seasons coming trends – choose wisely!

LIFESTYLE 23

February 09 2015

An Interview with Suzanne Jackson By Jessica Thompson

What are your plans for 2015? My plans for 2015… Oh god, there’s so much in the pipeline. One of the main things is to continue with my workshops and bring them all the way around Ireland. I just did the main cities last year, so I hope to bring them all over this year. One or two big surprises I have lined up will be revealed in the next few months. I can’t say anything just yet, but a very exciting year. And then I’m also going to be re-launching my website, so I’ve redesigned all of SoSuMe, and there’s going to be a brand new look to it in March. So all changing and very exciting times.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting a blog? I would say find your niche. Find the topic that you’re most passionate about; the topic that makes you stand out from the rest. That would be tip number one. I would also say you should really utilise social media. Be honest and genuine in what you write. If you do those three things well, you’ll have blog success.

What do you think are the most important qualities in young entrepreneurs today? I would say that they’re driven, that they’re hard-

working; that they don’t mind working for nothing in return immediately. So they kind of see the longer vision – the bigger goal, rather than the smaller immediate goal. I also think that they’re very mindful of their team and I think that entrepreneurs nowadays are extremely honest.

Do you ever have a bad hair day?

So what do you do when you have a bad hair day?

blog what would you do differently, if anything?

Yeah [laughs], all the time. I have really silky straight hair, so I’m always trying to get it puffed up and big, so on my bad hair days I think it’s really flat looking, so absolutely, I always get bad hair days.

I throw it up in a pony or in a bun. That’s kind of my way out. I just want to get it up off my face.

What would I do differently? That’s a really good question and something I’ve never been asked. Hmm… You know probably nothing because I think everything I’ve done along the way has

If you could go back in time to when you first set up your

shaped me to always better myself and learn all the valuable lessons along the way, so I probably wouldn’t change anything. I think if you were to live with that in your head – what would you have done differently – I think that would hold you back. Don’t look back on the past. Just keep going. Keep looking ahead.

What do you think are the toughest challenges facing young entrepreneurs? I suppose the competition. I think there’s so much competition out there when the recession hit. And I think so many people were made redundant and they had to put the creative had on and decided to see what they could do for themselves, using their skillset. So many people I know set up businesses. So I suppose just the competition out there now, and there’s no funding available and banks aren’t giving loans. So it’s really about putting in the hard work now.

If you were stuck on a desert island and you could choose three beauty products to have with you, what would they be? A mascara would be number one. A Vaseline for my lips because my lips always get dry. And my third product would probably be a hair brush [laughs]. I hate not being able to brush my hair. It sounds so silly, but I love brushing my hair. So those would be my three things.

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24 FILM REVIEWS

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Kingsman: The Secret Service By Néil Rogers In today’s cinematic world, there seems to be a certain need for darkness. Stemming from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series, major production companies have followed suit producing dark adaptations of much loved characters and stories. But how much is enough when Superman, the man who by his very title suggests fun and wonder, is subjected to the same treatment, leaving him bleak and miserable? Or even James Bond’s Skyfall, while arguably being the best in the series, did lose its sense of adventure, fun and wit. So are we now doomed to live with this forever? Mathew Vaughan and the Kingsman agents think not. Following on from Kickass and X-Men: First Class, director Mathew Vaughan injects some much-needed life into the modern spy thriller. The Secret Service follows the crusade of the

Kingsman agents as they secretly protect the people of the world from villains and madmen. Leading the adventure is Colin Firth as secret agent Harry Hart. After Firth’s actions cause the death of one of his fellow agents, he attempts to redeem his fallen partner 17 years later, introducing his son Eggsy (Taron Egerton) to the spy world. While the plot is still that of your generic spy movie, Kingsman’s appeal lies in its charismatic script, characters and direction. Once again, Vaughan has proved his worth behind the camera producing genuinely fun action sequences, while keeping characters interesting and important to the story. Egerton steals the show as the ballsy, crude English youth with a heart of gold and a mouth of pure brown! His addition to the story further heightens the familiarity with the audience. He is the everyday normal bloke who becomes a spy.

His interactions with other spies, reactions to the gadgets, the secrets, the villains and the spy movie clichés that accompany it are how we would all react ourselves. That Vaughan does not want to retire these clichés and, instead, embellishes them becomes clear; this is Vaughan’s ode to spy movies. This director has realised something that we, the viewers, have long forgotten; the sheer wonder in watching these movies with the hope of someday being 007. With this in mind, he brings us on a foulmouthed, loud, violent and brilliantly bonkers trip into nostalgia where we are once again reunited with that sense of wonderment and fun that we felt in our childhood years. A more modern technique is used yes, with gore, funny and less serious villains (thanks to

Samuel L. Jackson’s hilarious performance) and more nonsensical action sequences; but the intent is still there despite the change in delivery. Kingsman is as brilliant as you’ll allow it to be. If you won't marvel in it, you will have to at least admit it’s pretty fun. As they admit in the movie “It’s not one of them movies bruv.” No its not, it’s something far and beyond them.

Ex Machina

The Theory of Everything

By Niamh Kelly

Jane Kearns

With his directorial debut Ex Machina, Alex Garland offers something that could maybe be best described as feminism meets Frankenstein. The plot focuses on Caleb, a young coder working with internet search engine company, Bluebook. After winning a workplace lottery to get the chance to have a meet-and-greet with the company’s reclusive CEO, Nathan, Caleb is whisked away to his boss’ secluded mountain estate. Upon his arrival, however, he begins to realize that Nathan has a hidden agenda. He wants Caleb to be the human component in a new twist on the Turing Test, as he assess through a series of conversation sessions whether his AI, Ava, is fully conscious. As Caleb becomes increasingly more fascinated with Ava and her level of intelligence becomes increasingly more obvious, it would appear that the test has been passed. Yet questions remain about whether aspects of her personality have been programmed or if she has reached a level of consciousness beyond the control of her creator. The story draws on questions about human nature that people have been asking themselves for generations, but it places them in an incredibly modern setting. As such, the situation does not seem entirely implausible. The believability of the plot is also in great part due to the performances of the three central characters, and it is around their power-play that the tension builds. Bearded and built, Oscar Isaac’s Nathan is a duplicitous designer Frankenstein with a touch of Colonel Kurtz, whose true motives seem constantly obscured. Domhnall Gleeson turns in a solid performance, trying to navigate this claustrophobic futuristic playground that Nathan has created, while falling hard and fast for Alicia Vikander’s Ava. There is good chemistry between them, and it is Vikander’s performance that is really the heart of the film.

Directed by James Marsh and starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as Professor Hawking and his wife Jane, the film which is based on Jane’s memoir is low on science but high on emotions. The story follows Hawking from his time as a PhD student at Cambridge right the way through to the height of his celebrity after A Brief History of Time was first published. The main focus however is not the science and life’s work of Professor Hawking but the trials and tribulations of coming to terms with his illness and his challenging relationship with Jane. We are first introduced to Hawking as a young and healthy student who meets and quickly falls for his fellow student. Their relationship is sweet and very tender but things quickly change when Stephen is diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and given only two years to live. However, rather than distance herself from Stephen and his debilitating disease, Jane vows to stay by his side and marries him. As the film goes on Stephen breaks new ground and excels in his work, despite his fading health and independence. Meanwhile Jane pushes herself not to just care for her husband but for their children and herself. In terms of the plot, The Theory of Everything does have many of the tropes of an

Ethereal and soulful, her ballet background infuses the performance with a beautifully graceful physicality, and she perfectly captures the troubled and unknowable mind of a character that seems both human and robotic at once. The film is not without its problems. The lingering male gaze and fetishised female body certainly rear their heads more than once throughout the film. However, the film also tries to expose some very male-oriented fantasies for what they are. Nathan thinks of himself as a god who builds female-gendered machines that are informed by his own misogynistic views of the world. He bases Ava’s appearance on Caleb’s porn search history and programmes her to be somewhat flirtatious and seductive. Meanwhile Caleb is intent on ‘rescuing’ Ava from this situation. Neither man seems to give much thought to what Ava wants for herself. In this sense, the film does ask some big questions about female emancipation and feminine identity, but it is a message that also feels a little undermined by gratuitous full-frontal female nudity that seems intended to titillate more than anything. Nevertheless, the film is thoughtful and thrilling, boasting good performances and unafraid to pose serious questions about humanity and the limits of science and technology.

“Oscar bait-y” biopic; however, Anthony McCarten’s script deftly manages to create an interesting and very moving drama that closely examines love and the complexity of human relationships. But it is the performances that really bring this film to life; Felicity Jones is understated and incredibly likeable, she plays the role of wife, mother and carer to perfection, she is strained, tired, guilty, hopeful and loving all at once. The wife and carer of a terminally ill person is a difficult role to play to a believable level; but Jones does a superb job, tackling the role in a very dignified and real manner. Alongside Jones, Eddie Redmayne has the daunting task of playing Hawking at various points in his life and varying at degrees of his MND progression. Like his co-star, Redmayne plays the part in quite an understated and dignified way, there is no melodrama in his performance and this only enhances the impact of his transformation from student to the wheelchair bound Professor Hawking that we know today. In terms of his physical performance, Redmayne does a fantastic job; his movement and speech depict almost exactly how MND sufferers slowly lose their independence, and his facial expressions and idiosyncrasies perfectly capture Hawking’s personality. The performances are genuinely captivating; however it is the generic quality of the plot that lets the film down at times. The story is the same as any that follows a couple who must overcome adversity; however this is an incredibly unique couple and it feels as if some part of their story was lacking in this film. Overall though, this is an enjoyable movie that gives some insight into Jane and Stephen Hawking’s againstthe-odds life together.

MUSIC 25

February 09 2015

Corrib Live returns to Galway City for a second annual outing in aid of two local charities Charity music event Corrib Live will take place on February 13 in the Commercial Boat Club, Woodquay, with all proceeds going to two great causes: Voices for Down Syndrome Galway and COPE Galway Waterside House. The concert is being organised and run by students from the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme based in Galway City. Headline acts on the night include iRocks winners Rofi James and Clare-based alt ska/ indie band The Conectors, with more surprises on the night, plus buskers, DJ and finger food included, all for the bargain sum of €5.

Last year’s concert was a great success and raised almost €1400 between the charities, and the sound production students at VTOS Galway hope to surpass that total this year. The venue and equipment has been

donated free of charge, and businesses across Galway have donated some fantastic spot prizes to be raffled on the night. Voices for Down Syndrome Galway provide vital Speech and Language Therapy to children and adults in Galway City and County, and rely solely on fundraising initiatives to raise the €130,000 needed to provide services through the Speech and Language Department, NUI Galway. The project is run by a small committee of volunteer parents. COPE Galway Waterside House is the only 24 hour accessible refuge in the Western region, providing safe accommodation, information support and court accompaniment to women and their children experiencing domestic violence. The service has strong links with a range of statutory and voluntary agencies including NUI Galway and University College Hospital Galway with regard to the delivery

of training and awareness on the issue of domestic violence. VTOS provide vocational training courses for adults who have been unemployed for 6 months or more, and is run by the City of Galway VEC. Eligible participants are offered the chance to return to full-time training or education while retaining their social welfare benefits. All courses are certified by FETAC or ECDL. Further information on courses can be found at http://www.cgvec.ie/vtos/ and by contacting Anne Corrigan or Declan Ramberg at 091 566885. Tickets are available from students at VTOS, Merchant’s Square Galway, at the Ticket Desk in OMG (Formerly Zhivago) Shop Street Galway or by contacting corriblive15@ gmail.com More information and updates on the acts, plus directions can be found on https://www. facebook.com/corriblive.

Rising Galway band featured in Mexican movie documentary By Eoin Hynes A young band based in Moylough, County Galway have had a particularly exciting start to their new year. D-Day are a rock band consisting of brothers Darragh and Keith Whyte, alongside Chris Breslin and Cathal Sweeney. Just last Wednesday the band were preparing to welcome director Miguel Márquez as he began filming them for a new Mexican documentary by the name of Musical Exchange. But how did these two unlikely collaborators meet? “All of us in the band watched Breaking Bad,” Darragh (lead vocals, lead guitar) explained to me, “and they ended the show with this song (‘Baby Blue’ by Badfinger). None of us had heard it before but we had the simultaneous idea to cover the song

because everyone will want to hear it after Breaking Bad. “So we seized the opportunity and we put it up on YouTube hoping someone might see it. Then, low and behold, Miguel saw it.” Keith (drums) couldn’t quite believe it: “I came home from school one day and checked Facebook first, as you do, and I was like, wait, what? This is insane!” But in a series that will later travel to Berlin and Florence, what was it about Galway and D-Day that attracted Miguel? “I watched Breaking Bad for a long time and when I saw them do that cover I was blown away. I think that these guys are really, really talented, otherwise we wouldn’t spend the kind of money we’re spending now, or come all the way from Mexico to Galway. We’re very sure the world is about to know these guys and that they really kick-ass!”

The band has had a hectic few days, and has only known Miguel briefly but said that working with him has been a flawless experience so far. “He’s so down-to-earth. When we first met him last Wednesday immediately he was so easy to talk to and he makes us at ease, it was so natural. It never felt forced,” said Darragh. Miguel also hopes to catch the band in action, and to shoot a music video. Darragh explained to me how good it is for the band to have Miguel’s experience and professional help on board: “He’s been fantastic, so incredibly professional, the footage is being shot in 4k and it looks more real than when I have my contacts in!”

But with that said, it hasn’t been all glamour, as they found whilst shooting at Silver Strand early Saturday morning. Keith sums it up briefly: “Well, I nearly got pneumonia!” Overall the band is having a blast, and is really valuing this extraordinary experience.

McCartney brings a little extra magic to Kanye’s new tunes By Saoirse Rafferty “This Paul McCartney guy is gonna be HUGE after this song.” I don’t know whether to laugh or cry after reading tweets similar to this one by ‘Justin Morello’. Confusion has arisen amongst young Kanye West fans after he released his new single ‘Only One’, a collaboration with Paul McCartney, on New Year’s Eve. This song is a complete new scene, style and sound for Kanye that has left fans calling him ‘The American Mozart’. Kanye is giving us a chance to listen to his vocals (auto-tuned of course) with meaningful words written about his mother who passed away; the tough and ‘stronger’ rapper lets us into his heart. Although this new style may sound

familiar to fans who have listened to tracks from his album 808s & Heartbreak, where he slowed down the pace of his music, it is far from his usual popular ‘that shit cray’ vibe which includes rapping, bass drops, fast pace music and confusion about what Kanye is actually saying. However, what differentiates this song from all of Kanye’s previous work is Paul McCartney. The soft keyboards playing in the background create a soothing catchy melody; it’s confirmed, McCartney has still got ‘it’. Whatever that ‘it’ is, it’s something completely different to what’s on the radio right now, and I’m scared to admit that the

collaboration actually works. However, the duo’s track ‘FourFiveSeconds’, featuring Rihanna, took my fancy much more. Rihanna’s vocals are more energetic than Kanye in this acoustic, easing melody and are easier to stand after listening to a few times.

Don’t worry folks, the chorus isn’t anything like her usual songs (e.g. ‘Only Girl In The World’ or ‘Where Have You Been’), where you’re fearing the bass drop because you know that’s when the screaming and moaning is about to escalate very quickly. Thanks to McCartney this song has a soft tone similar to ‘Stay’ that actually brings the best out of her vocals. However, I must warn you in advance that there are plenty of the usual confusing lyrics that don’t make much sense. It’s clear to say this unexpected collaboration will have a huge impact on Rihanna and Kanye’s music careers, making them even bigger and better than before. Who is to thank for this? I think we all know the answer to that. Rihanna and Kanye, you guys might be “HUGE” and have had many number ones, but you will never be bigger than The Beatles.

26 MUSIC & THEATRE

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

An interview with: Niall Murphy of Oh Boland By Eoin Hynes So, for the people out there that don’t know you guys, tell us a about Oh Boland, and what ye’re all about? Well, Oh Boland are a three piece garage-pop group based out of Tuam, County Galway, North East of the County, and we’ve been a band for in and around two and a half, almost three years now. And it’s myself Niall Murphy on vocals and guitar, Eanna MacDonnacha on bass and Simon McDonagh on drums and vocals. Where did ye get the name ‘Oh Boland’? We evolved out of a project I had while in college in Maynooth. We were originally called the Eskimos and that was the name I came up with for the songs I was writing at the time. Then Simon and Eanna joined the band and I moved back to Galway and we started playing. We got our first gig off a guy called David Boland who runs a night called Citóg in The

Cellar, but it’s now in The Roisín Dubh. Two weeks before the gig we realised we couldn’t use our name as there was another band called the Eskimos, as naturally there would be! We brainstormed about five million names but couldn’t agree on one so we decided to text Dave Boland. Then Simon decided to call us Boland as a joke for the one gig, then I put on the Oh and we agreed on that. Some onlookers at the recent Roisín Dubh gig made the inevitable Nirvana comparison, what with you being a three-piece and Eanna (bass) looking like a young Krist Noveselic, what do you make of that? Yeah I mean Nirvana’s a good comparison. Like Nirvana were a band that got me on the whole guitar rock thing back when I was like ten or eleven. I suppose there are similarities in maybe the heaviness and noisiness but I think sixties music is a bigger influence on us at the moment and what we’ve been doing in the last while but we do sound similar yeah.

You guys show a lot of energy on stage, through the music as well as all the jumping around. Is it important for you guys to give out that energy in order to for the crowd to feel more comfortable giving it back to ye, or is just a natural thing? It’s more of a natural sort of reaction to how we feel on stage. And I suppose if the audience are into it they’ll react and if not then we’ll just still be jumping on stage. It’s just a natural sort of a thing.

a cottage out in Carraroe, like literally out in the middle of nowhere and we did that with a guy called Mark Chester.

An onlooker in the Roisín last week claims he once saw you fall off the stage mid song due to all the jumping around? Yes, I can confirm that, I don’t know who dug that one up but I’d say it was the early days of the Cellar.

So, now onto the Arts Ball which ye’ll be playing on the 11th of February, that must be exciting? Yeah, I mean like it’ll be nice to kick up our heels with a big massive fun-loving crowd, well I presume that’s the idea. We played to the NCAD ball, and I don’t know if it’s an Art college thing, but that was the theme of that ball, a few hundred people absolutely loving it. Certainly if that’s the case, a few hundred people looking to have a good time well then we’re very happy to oblige them and we’ll have a very good time doing so as well.

What can you tell us about the new album? Spilt Milk is the proposed title. It’s a ten track record and I hope it’ll be out within the next three months. It’s been recorded since October. We did it in two days. Eanna’s family has

For those attending, how would you describe Oh Boland’s live show in 5 words? I would say we are, poppy, we are fuzzy, we are Frantic, we are super-slick and supersatisfactory.

Beowulf: The Blockbuster

Uptown Special: Funking things up

By Deborah Ní Ghibne

By Eoin Hynes

I need to start doing a little research before attending theatre performances. My tactic has been to go in raw, knowing absolutely nothing about anything, and therefore allowing the performance to wash over me anew and uncorrupted. You can therefore imagine my complete shock when I visited the Town Hall Theatre to see Beowulf: The Blockbuster and was not greeted, as I had anticipated, with a huge, flamboyant set, bursting with actors and singers re-enacting the epic English tale. Instead the stage was bare apart from a neon-coloured, rectangular, floating screen and a shaven-headed, barefoot man dressed in grey. I have to admit that my first gut reaction, before a word was spoken or a movement made, was to sigh heavily and hope that it wouldn't be too painful. How wrong I was. From Brian Burroughs's first fluid movement as the baby in the womb to his last as the expectant father holding his son and wondering “what is your story?” I was captivated. Burroughs is a natural storyteller, creating strong characters between whom he

The writing is exceptional. A story of the last chance a dying father has to connect with his son. There is nothing complicated or over done about the language used. It is very real and very powerful.

moves effortlessly, so much so that I had to remind myself time and again that there was only one man on the stage. His powerful physical presence and the immense control he has over his body, as he moves through the performance, from place to place and character to character, was like watching a piece of modern ballet. Every move and gesture is perfect and when he takes you with him from the womb to the son's bedroom, to the back garden, to the building site and around the streets of Dublin, you can see it all as clearly as if it were there in front of you. It's an emotionally charged performance and I found myself carried away on its wave. The writing is exceptional. A story about life, love and loss, about having to grow up too quickly and learning to be brave. A story of the last chance a dying father has to connect with his son. There is nothing complicated or over done about the language used. It is very real and very powerful. The references to movies reinforce this. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman. Movies that have been family favourites for generations. The good guy versus the bad guy and the good guy always wins. But maybe not this time around – not for Beowulf or for the father. While the theme is heavy and heartbreaking the humour that shines through the entire play grounds it even more so in reality. How unexpected and hilarious to have Sean Connery as the voice of Beowulf and how fitting that Unferth, the baddy, had an english accent. Grendel's Aussie mother was also genius and drew many laughs from the audience. I enjoyed every moment of this play. I shed a tear and I laughed out loud. Performances like this are the reason I love going to the theatre.

Mark Ronson’s list of collaborators is a sight to behold; Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Adele and Lily Allen to name but a few. However, it’s fair to say his most recent collaboration with pintsize superstar Bruno Mars has been his most successful yet. Following up a late contender for 2014’s song of the year is by no means easy. If you’ve yet to hear the dance floor filling ‘Uptown Funk’ you’ve clearly been living under a rock. The incredibly danceable, hook-filled lead single once again proved Mark Ronson’s ability as a hit maker. But once you’ve destroyed the charts and brought funk back to the masses, what’s the next step? Well, a slow, soulful harmonica intro by none other than Stevie Wonder isn’t a bad start. Follow that with a track that manages to combine late night lounge music with some of the retro 80s vibes we’ve come to associate with Ronson and you’re off to a flyer. ‘Feel Right’ featuring Louisiana born Mystikal is one we can expect to be hearing on dance floors across the nation in the near future (and radio if the profanities can be somehow swapped out without losing the attitude that makes the song). The track ends as an anonymous MC invites us all to ‘the after party’, which could only be held one place; Uptown. This is where this record falters. Not on ‘Uptown Funk’, but on putting ‘the after party’ of the record four tracks in. I could bore you with spiel about the success of the lead single, or tell you how great a track it is (and as anybody who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past while knows it is), but you’ve heard it all before. This record takes off so quickly but by placing this so called ‘after party’ only four

tracks in, the rest of the record pales in comparison. On a regular night out would you like the after party to begin less than halfway through the night? Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the album has its moments. ‘I Can’t Lose’ has more danceable beats, and a fantastic vocal from Keyone Starr. Kevin Parker returns for the supposed next single ‘Daffodils’, which is very clearly influence by the sounds of Parker’s own band Tame Impala. The trippy, hippy laid back vibe has a real summer feel to it and will do well if given the same backing as the lead single. Andrew Wyatt’s ‘Crack in the Pearl’ slows the tempo right down, before Jeff Bhasker brings it back up with an almost T-Rex sounding guitar riff and harmonised vocals. Parker returns for another very Tame Impala sounding ‘Leaving Los Feliz’ to complete his hat-trick of tracks on the album. Wyatt then takes over once again for the slow grooving vibes of ‘Heavy and Rolling’ before ‘Crack in the Pearl, Pt. II’ plays us out with Stevie Wonder finishing off what he started with his trusty harmonica. So what’s wrong I hear you ask? These all sound like decent tracks with some big names giving their individual touches to Ronson’s nostalgic sounds, and they are. Track by track this album is fantastic, but it peaks far too early. To re-use the whole ‘after party’ idea, ideally you want the after party to be late enough in the night that you got as much as you could out of the original party. Ronson has once again proved himself as one of the best producers in the world, with a truly unique approach to his music, but on this occasion, he’s shown his hand too early and as a result, the album fizzles out rather than ending with the bang it deserves. Nevertheless, Uptown Special is very truly worth a listen, as at times it is very truly special.

LITERATURE 27

February 09 2015

STUDENT BOOKSHELF: REVIEW: The Visible World For the Engineering Students By Dean Buckley

By Thomas Murray Welcome to the Student Bookshelf. In each issue we’ll be exploring some of the greatest works of fiction, their authors and how they might relate to you, the students of NUI Galway, whether you’re doing commerce, nursing or marine biology. This week we’ll be looking at Thomas Pynchon’s gargantuan novel, Gravity’s Rainbow, and how it might be beneficial to engineering students. Thomas Pynchon is a recluse. In fact, there are only four known photographs of the man in existence. He attended Cornell University in 1953 to study Engineering Physics, but dropped out after his second year. He returned two years later, after a brief stint in the Navy, this time to study English. Remembered as the type of English student to “read books on mathematics for fun”, he was later employed as a technical writer for Boeing after college. Pynchon’s magnum opus has been described as “the kind of Ulysses which Joyce might have written if he had been a Boeing engineer with a fetish for quadrille paper”. Indeed, Gravity’s Rainbow is dense with historical, scientific and engineering jargon that would baffle and bewilder a typical English student. But for those of you who are familiar with Newton’s Third Law of Motion

and the Laws of Thermodynamics, Gravity’s Rainbow should make for interesting bedtime reading. The book follows the construction of V-2 Rockets by the Germans during WWII whilst also attempting to uncover the mystery behind the ‘black device’, a mysterious, likely sinister, mechanism which is to be fitted to a rocket with the serial number 00000. Many readers have struggled to get past the novel’s complex diction and shifting narrative, often forcing them to put it down until such a time that they might be able to read it completely and without difficulty. It’s no secret that Thomas Pynchon has a rocket in his pocket for engineering. Gravity’s Rainbow is a testament to this. But for those of you who are swamped with FYPs and don’t have the time to read all nine hundred pages of the literary leviathan, never fear; there are alternatives. One of Pynchon’s earliest short stories, entitled Entropy, chronicles the efforts of Meatball Mulligan in trying to create order from the chaos of the lengthy, “lease-breaking” party that has consumed his apartment. The topic of entropy is revisited again in The Crying of Lot 49, a psychedelic novella set in sixties California, when the novella’s protagonist encounters a crazed scientist who believes he has invented a machine based on Maxwell’s Demon.

REVIEW: Shades of London By Mark Laherty What could be more romantic than Jack the Ripper? Coprophagia, for starters. Or charcoal. Or a tooth left in a glass of Coke overnight. Still, Maureen Johnson’s paranormal YA series could be a great Valentine’s gift, if only for yourself. The Name of the Star and The Madness Underneath have skulked around bookshelves for the last few years, and the hotly anticipated Shadow Cabinet is mere weeks away. The basic premise of the series is that Rory, an American exchange student in London, has a near-death experience which gives her strange powers. While she figures out what has happened to her, the stakes are rising; someone is re-enacting the murders of Jack the Ripper. This somewhat pedestrian concept is enhanced by its execution. Johnson writes a teen girl going on a paranormal adventure like it’d never been written before, defying all the clichés of the genre. It never feels like familiar ground. There’s no slog of dull exposition, no sense of working through the same scene you’ve watched or read dozens of times. The heart of the series, and what makes it a Valentine’s recommendation despite the gore, is its characters. It’s not just that they’re nuanced and well-drawn and believable and all that. This series has managed something

that’s so rarely achieved in adventure stories anymore: a great romantic subplot. As of 2015, romantic subplots are liable to completely ruin an adventure story. Twilight has received a lot of deserved flack for it, especially considering how creepy, obsessive, and possessive both Edward and Jacob were. Not the case in Shades. The pace is unconventional and allows for it. Much of the books wander along through Rory’s new life in boarding school, giving plenty of time for characterisation without feeling laboured or getting in the way of action. A fine balancing act is perpetually at work. Unusually for the genre, much of the plot and structure is hinged on characterisation in a manner more conventional of a romance. This doesn’t contrast with the spooky spirits floating about, but rather weaves them in. The pacing here is unconventional, but it’s amongst the best in the genre. This is particularly true of the romance. Where most series will rush in and try to establish it straight away then milk it for all its worth, this is spread out over the whole series. It feels like this is going to be a four-part story rather than four stories stapled together. To say much more would be to spoil some outstanding structural innovations. Suffice to say that these books about ghosts going on gratuitously-described bloody killing sprees comes recommended as a Valentine’s read for you and your loved one.

Mark Slouka’s The Visible World is one of the most powerful love stories I’ve ever read, and one of the most brilliantly constructed novels ever completely misunderstood by half of its reviewers, who clearly did not read it properly. The line between fiction and non-fiction is heavily blurred in this tale of the son of Czech immigrants, who tries to unlock the secret behind his mother’s recent suicide. The first section of the novel, “The New World: A Memoir” covers his life, growing up with his parents in New York, and going to college, and the death of his father and then mother. From a young age, he knows his mother loved another man back in Czechoslovakia, who was killed during the Nazi occupation, and he connects her life-long depression and her suicide, some years after his father’s death, with this lost love. In the brief middle section, “Prague: Intermezzo”, he goes to Prague to try and piece together his parents’ lives before his birth, but struggles to find anything beyond the suggestion they may have been involved in the resistance against the Nazis. Finally, struggling beyond the limits of his self, he writes “1942: A Novel”, where the vacuous abyss between the handful of facts he’s scraped together is filled with pure imagination.

From scraps of information, his parents, and her mother’s lover, are involved not only in the resistance against the Nazis, but are participants in Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi governor of what is now the Czech Republic, a man known as the Hangman, the Butcher of Prague, The Blond Beast, Himmler’s Evil Genius, and, most extravagantly, Young Evil God of Death. Where once we had the pace of an unfurling family drama, the plot becomes heroic and sweeping with high stakes and shimmering archetypes. The novel section employs cliché in such a way as to both deconstruct and elevate it, not just because Slouka himself renders the trite so masterfully fresh with his writing, but because, within the context of the story itself, we know that this is a nigh-mythological tale assembled by the narrator to create a story where none could be found. Ultimately, in that act of creation, we find the real love story of The Visible World, not an epic wartime romance, but the story of a son’s love for his mother While framed as an attempt to make sense of his mother’s suicide, it doesn’t always read that way. In fact, I’ve always understood The Visible World as an attempt to give his mother a gift, to assuage his guilt for not preventing her death. One epic romance.

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SPORT 29

February 09 2015

Galway make impressive start to league campaign By Maurice Brosnan While it is never wise to make predictions based off a league campaign, much less one game in that league, it appears based off Galway’s opening National Football League division 2 game as if they are to drastically change the way they play football. Playing with just two forwards for large parts of the game, Galway saw off Meath 2-13 to 1-12 on a cold, dry day in Salthill. The conditions were ideal for the players, with low temperatures, a little breeze and a dry pitch. Galway started excellently, racing into a 1-5 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes. Playing with Adrian Varley and Danny Cummins as their only two inside forwards, Galway moved the ball quickly and showed great efficiency in hand-passing the ball up the pitch, before delivering a low ball in front of the lively Varley or Cummins. This tactic worked well early on as Meath originally played without a sweeper, allowing Cummins to grab two early scores. At the 21 minute mark a clever link-up between Sean Denvir and Adrian Varley worked a goal opportunity for Danny Cummins. His shot was blocked, but still crept over the line. Meath were hindered by slow build-up and an inability to win ball from their own kick-outs, as the midfield partnership of Fiontain Ó Curraoin and Tom Flynn operated with their usual efficiency. Two frees and a Paddy O’Rourke ‘45 brought Meath back into the game. Stephen Bray also grabbed a point, leaving the score to 1-5 to 0-5, before the score of the half came with Varley again getting in front of his man, dummying with his left, before slotting the resulting score from 30 yards. He could and probably should have followed this up with another score as again Meath lost their kick-out, but on the stroke of half-time, he kicked the ball just wide. Anyone hoping for a replay of last year’s seven goal thriller between these two teams was left disappointed at the break, but the game took on a higher level of intensity and quality after the restart. Walshe, Cummins and another Paul Varley score brought Galway’s tally to 1-9 and they could have had a goal after some great build-up, in which Shane Walshe featured heav-

ily, was it not for a good save from keeper Paddy O’Rourke. Meath responded with an O’Rourke free and ‘45, a rare point from play and another Michael Newman free 18 minutes into the second half. This saw just a goal separate the teams. Stephen Bray was Meath’s target-man inside and kicked his second score to cut the gap to just two points. Galway responded in scoring three points. One of which started with Galway’s corner back Donal O’Neil dispossessing a Meath forward and hand passing the ball off. Within fourteen hand passes and no kick-passes, Ó Curraoin found himself just inside the ‘45 and kicked a great score. Shane Walshe, who in the first half worked tirelessly in defence to disrupt Meath, seemed to have more licence to attack in the second half and kicked a point, before finding himself in a one-on-one with the keeper and he slotted the ball low and hard to O’Rourke’s right to give Galway a 2-12 to 1-10 lead. The game was not with-out controversy as Graham Reily and Andrew Tormey both saw black-cards for off-the ball incidents. Late on, Patrick Sweeney replaced Adrian Varley and looked lively. Despite a late goal from Jamie Queeney, a late rally never came and Galway ran out comfortable winners. Despite a defensive formation Galway moved the ball excellently and got runners off the shoulder consistently, Paul Varley in particular working extremely hard. Galway’s midfield partnership worked very well while the inside forward line of Cummins and Varley will certainly give full-back lines across the country something to think about. Galway: B O’Donoghue, D O’Neill, C Forde, C Sweeney, P Varley (0-02, replaced by D Kyne), G Bradshaw, G O’Donnell, F Ó Curraoin (0-01), T Flynn, S Denvir (0-01), E Hoare (0-02, 0-01f, replaced by M Martin), E Tierney, D Cummins (1-03, replaced by C Mulryan), A Varley (0-01, replaced by P Sweeney), S Walsh (1-03, 0-01f ). Meath: P O’Rourke (0-03, 0-02f, 0-01 ’45), D Tobin, C McGill, M Burke, P Harnan (replaced by D Dalton), D Keogan, B Menton (0-01), H Rooney, A Flanagan, G Reilly (0-01), S Bray (0-02), A Tormey, (Replaced by J Queeney(0-1)) B McMahon (replaced by D Caroll), M Newman (0-05, 0-04f ), J Wallace(replaced by S Tobin) .

Allianz Football League round up By John Ivory TYRONE 0-9 – MONAGHAN 1-13 Monaghan looked impressive as they outscored Tyrone by 1-8 to two points in the second half of this encounter in Omagh and got their league campaign off to the best possible start. Tyrone raced into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead thanks in part to three Darren McCurry frees, but that was as good as it got for Tyrone as Monaghan took total control. Trailing by two at the break, Monaghan went one ahead just minutes into the second half. A thirty minute floodlight failure didn’t stop Monaghan’s momentum and when Stephen Gollogly netted the game was effectively over. DONEGAL 1-15 – DERRY 0-12 An Odhrán MacNiallais goal proved vital for Donegal as Rory Gallagher began his league career as manager with a win. Derry led 0-9 to 0-6 at the break after an evenly contested opening half. Donegal started the second period better and the scores were level when they were awarded a penalty. Michael Murphy saw his effort hit the crossbar and come back out. However, the Tír Chonaill men wouldn’t have to wait long to raise a green flag, as MacNiallais finished to the net to put three between the teams. Donegal finished strongly and recorded a six point win. KERRY 0-10 – MAYO 2-11 Mayo started their league campaign with a comfortable win over Kerry in Killarney. Goals in either half from Alan Freeman and Kevin McLoughlin sealed the victory and extended Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s unhappy record of never having won a league game in February as Kerry manager. An early injury to Evan Regan saw Michael Conroy enter the fray and he added a vital 0-4 to Mayo’s cause. While Tommy Walsh made his comeback in a Kerry jersey after five years in Australia, it was Barry John Keane and David Moran were the standout performers for Kerry, but this was easy in the end for Mayo. CORK 1-15 – DUBLIN 0-16 Jamie O’Sullivan’s 12th minute goal would eventually prove to be the telling score in this one. It put the Rebels 1-2 to 0-3 ahead and Cork would maintain this margin of a lead until the break, 1-7 to 0-9. Dublin hit the front in the second half with Dean Rock (0-8, 4f ) in inspired form

for this time of year. Cork finished far stronger led by Conor Dorman, Colm O’Neill and Brian Hurley and outscored the Dubs by 0-4 to 0-1 to claim the spoils. DOWN 3-13 KILDARE 1-15 Down snatched victory thanks to two last minutes goals from Arthur McConville and Donal O’Hare to devastate Kildare in St.Conleth’s Park. Kildare started well with Fionn Dowling and Eoghan O’Flaherty leading the way. Niall Kelly goaled for Kildare on 21 minutes,but it was cancelled out by a fine solo effort from Caolán Mooney after the restart. Down were never too far behind thanks to the efforts of O’Hare and Paul Devlin, but even though Kildare’s Padraig Fogarty had his 50th minute penalty saved, the Lilywhites opened up a three point lead. It was from then that the drama unfolded with the Mourne men scoring 2-1 late on. ROSCOMMON 1-11 CAVAN 0-14 A Martin Reilly ‘45 saw Cavan claim a deserved draw after a captivating game in Kiltoom. Cavan’s ability to win clean possession was cancelled out by some tenacious, disciplined defending by Roscommon. The Rossies’ inside men were on form and brothers Diarmuid and Ciarán Murtagh accounted for 0-9 of their scores. Cathal Cregg’s 12th minute goal was countered by three Cavan scores without reply, but Roscommon led by two at the interval. An exceptional second half performance from Gearóid McKiernan, in which he scored four points in-a-row from play, brought Cavan to within one. Martin Reilly and Roscommon’s Donie Shine swapped points before Reilly stepped up to tie the scores. WESTMEATH 1-12 – LAOIS 0-10 Westmeath finished strongly earning a five point win over midlands rival Laois, who would eventually finish the game with just 13 men. James Dolan struck for goal in first half injury time and then a Ray Connellan free before the break left Westmeath four to the good, 1-6 to 0-5. Laois had the assistance of the wind in the second half and drew level with just over 10 minutes to go. However, Laois’ day went from bad to worse as they lost Padraig McMahon to a second yellow and then Brendan Quigley to a straight red. Westmeath finished with five unanswered points to seal the win.

L-–R: Annette Clarke manager, Olivia Divilly, Doireen Hughes and selector David Henry. The NUI Galway Ladies Gaelic captured the All-Ireland college 7s several weeks back and were narrowly defeated by Mayo in the Ladies FBD final. They now prepare for the O'Connor which will take place on the 10th of February. The Galway students will face Mary I of limerick in their opening game in Dangan at 2:30pm and they will be hoping to overcome and progress further in the O'Connor cup.

NUI Galway Men’s Soccer defeated Dundalk IT in the All Ireland Semi Final at Dangan on Tuesday Feb 3rd 2015. They face Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa (Cork) at a Limerick venue on Tues Feb 17/Weds Feb 18. Goals were scored by Niall Whelan (pen), Padraic Cunningham, Brian Gaffney.

30 SPORT

Sin Vol. 16 Issue 9

Professionalism is nigh An interview with Alex Byrne By Michael Farrell It seems that GAA people talk about change every spring without fail. Player welfare, fixture congestion and the club vs county debate always seem to crop up. These issues are interconnected in different ways, but really these problems all come back to amateurism vs professionalism. The GAA remains an amateur organisation in theory. The players don’t get paid, the clubs, which constitute a huge deal of the organisation, are run by volunteers and a large amount of the rules and administration of the organisation are also quite amateur. However, in other ways the GAA is already a professional entity. The administrators of county and provincial boards get paid, as do coaching officers, not to mention the farce that is club managers getting “expenses”, that can go well into five figures. Also, inter-county players train as much as, if not more, than some of their professional counterparts in other sports. Not to mention that the GAA has a lucrative deal with SKY, a foreign TV company. This conflict at the heart of the GAA extends to a number of different areas, one being the fixture congestion that occurs every summer. The manager of the county team will invariably block the club championship fixtures to allow his players to prepare for the inter-county championships. This means that all the senior club players in a county are put on hold for the summer, if not longer, with some clubs going as many as four months between games. This giving the definite impression that the GAA is two different organisations, a professional one and an amateur one, at the same time. The recent spate of inter county retirements has only has served to highlight the fact that a lot of older inter county players are falling out of love with the game. Players, such as Benny Coulter, Rory Kavanagh and Paddy Keenan, began playing football in a different era, where it was acceptable to go for a few drinks after a match, or where, in Rory Kavanagh’s case, a player would not be asked by his manager to eat eight meals a day. They grew up with an amateur game, which was not obsessed with winning and which was played simply for the love of it. To these kind of

players being a professional and getting paid to play would have been alien and against the ethos of the game they grew up with. However, the game and the association has changed. Young players, who have been in through underage system and who are starting to play inter-county football, might look at the early morning and late night training sessions, the strict diet, the missed nights out and the stadiums full of supporters, and wonder what is in it for them, as everyone else involved is getting something. The players do get the GPA grant, but put in context with the sacrifice demanded by the nature of inter-county football, it doesn’t seem like adequate compensation. Not if you are a player like Michael Meehan, amongst the best forwards of a generation, and you have an ankle injury, sustained from playing football, that affects your work and will most likely dog you for the rest of your life. It is highly unlikely that the GAA teams will start to do less training, or teams will allow the standard of football to decrease now that the game has become more professional. Sports rarely move from being professional in nature to amateur, but certainly not when sports are as popular as in the GAA. The average attendance at inter-county championship matches in 2013 being 19,092, which is more than in professional sports leagues such as the NBA in the United States. The slide towards professionalism seems inevitable, maybe it’s time the GAA actually started running two organisations; an amateur one for club players and a professional one for inter-county players. This would erase the issues of fixtures congestion, as player would either be amateur or professional and would allow club and inter-county competitions to run at the same time. Also, this would give inter-county players the financial stability and rest time they need, while freeing them up to play more games at that level over the course of the season, which would of course be needed to generate extra revenue. Professionalism was once against the ethos of the GAA, but that organisation is long gone. It would need to be careful planning, but professionalism is engrained in the nature of the new GAA and it has gone past the point of no return. All we can do now is embrace it.

Paddy Higgins (Captain) and Stephanie Creed with the 'Club of the Year' trophy which NUIG Boat Club won at the Golden Jubilee Galway Sports Stars which were held in the Ardilaun.

By Eoin Hynes How has pre-season been going? Has the intensity been upped from last season now that you’ll be up against better opposition? Pre season has been going well so far, we're all working hard and pushing each other to be at our best. You made 18 appearances last season as part of a squad that seemed to have the perfect blend of youth and experience. How much confidence did Tommy Dunne’s faith in youth give the younger players? Yeah of course it makes a difference, and again for the younger lads coming into the squad this year, they know if they're getting on well they'll get a chance to play and that’s important too. There were many highlights of last season for the club and I’m sure for you personally, but none more so than the second leg of the play-off against UCD that confirmed your promotion. Tell us about big that night was for the team and the fans? And talk us through your goal that was doing the rounds on social media. That night was just something else, the atmosphere in Eamonn Deacy Park was something, the fans were great all year round but that night was special! The buzz around the place was exactly what we needed to drive us on and hopefully we get support like that again this year! The goal is just a blur to me. I’ve seen the replay and it’s actually a good move and maybe a little deflection helped it in but it went down as my goal and I think it was as good a time as any to get my first League of Ireland goal! A number of new players have signed in the off season, how have they settled in in pre season and what will they offer to the club? The lads have settled in brilliantly. Dave has been around the League of Ireland for a few years now so he’s added a bit of experience, although he’s still obviously very young he has a lot to add to the team! And Killian likewise, a few of us know him already from underage and he’s a great lad too. He’s a good player and he’s vocal on the pitch and in training and we need that.

Ryan Manning was obviously a massive contributor to your promotion last season, how much of a loss will he be after moving to QPR? Yeah of course Ryan’s a huge loss to us but we also did well during the season without him so I think we'll get on fine without him too. With the increased ability of the opposition this season do you think it could be important to be more cautious in certain games or will you go at it with the same attitude as last season? No I think we'll be going out with the same aims, play some good football and look to play exciting football. We're not afraid of the opposition and I think we'll pull out a few surprise results over the season. What expectations has the team set for itself this season? To be honest we haven't discussed our goals yet as a team but of course we're all looking to improve as players individually and to finish as high up the table as possible and hopefully go on a cup run. As a Galwegian yourself, how much do you think it means to the city and to have a club back in The League of Ireland? I think it’s huge, the club has a big history and it’s back where it should be now. Like I said hopefully we get good crowds again this year and now that we're in the premier division it might encourage more people to come out and watch too.

Aidan Kinneen and Richie Bennett, embers of NUIG Boat Club attending the Golden Jubilee Galway Sports Stars Awards in the Ardilaun Hotel.

Members of NUIG Boat Club attending the Golden Jubilee Galway Sports Stars Awards in the Ardilaun Hotel; NUIG Boat Club won the 'Club of the Year' award after their successful 2014 campaign.

FINAL WORD 31

February 09 2015

BRAIN TEASER:

diary of the SMOKEY’S PIGEON

By Tony Gapper George is having a birthday party and his parents have invited 15 of his friends but four cannot make it to his party. George’s mum has made a circular chocolate cake. All of the children (no adults) have exactly the same amount of cake, apart from George, who has half as much again, and his friend, Rose, who has one quarter more than George. Expressed as degrees of a circle, how much do George and Rose get each? Last issue’s Brain Teaser answer: A man believes he is aged 66 years but has lost his passport. He feels he will only live until 80 years. When he receives a replacement passport he notices that his age has been overstated by 17%. Based upon his actual age, what % (2 decimal places) of his life remains until he reaches 80 years? Answer: 66 x 0.83 (100-17) = 54.78; 80 - 54.78 = 25.22 years; as a % of his remaining life = 25.22/54.78 x 100 = 46.04% life remains. 54.78 years x 1.46.04% = 80.00 years.

I LOVE VALENTINE’S WEEK. Smokey’s is selling loads of little cakes and heart-shaped treats. Granted everyone is buying these for themselves and not their other halves, but it’s nice to see so many symbols of love around. Plus everyone keeps dropping crumbs and bits of icing so I can pick them up and bring them back to my other half, a pretty lady pigeon on top of the vending machine, as a token of my affection. I found her outside one day. She’s new here and was looking for the best place to eat, so I invited her inside and showed her around. She loves the place. Now we huddle together and coo sweet nothings in each other’s ears. Our kids would be beautiful.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Follow @Smokeys_Pigeon on Twitter for regular pigeon musings

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THE COLLEGE INSIDER The daily listy-list

By Eoin Molloy IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, online media has witnessed the entry of a new form of journalism: the listicle (cue dramatic music). It is about time we here at Sin capitalised on this all-consuming, hard-hitting system of writing. So in the style of Buzzfeed, The Daily Edge and Elite Daily here is the list you simply have to read today, lol. TOP FIVE WAYS YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN NUI GALWAY STUDENT 1. You have an NUI Galway student card. It’s green and has your name on it. OMG, totes relatable right? I have one too! Lol. 2. You are reading Sin newspaper, so the strong likelihood is that you are an NUI Galway student. The paper is only distributed on campus, so you must be a student here unless you’re some sort of moocher here to soak up our free papery goodness. If the latter is the case, then in the words of Clint Eastwood: ‘Get off my lawn’ (enter gif here).

3. The big yellow thing! This one is my totes fave. Like what is the BYT? Lol, chances are if you’re an NUI Galway student, you know someone who has tragically disappeared while inside the electro-magnet field created by the big yellow thing’s alien powers. RIP in peace. 4. RAG week! Oh no wait, its cancelled. 5. I’m all out of ideas (enter gif about my inability ‘to even’ here).

Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn, OÉ Gaillimh

Uisce-Atlan ar mhaithe le Carthanachtaí

NUI Galway Students’ Union

Charity Aquathon Tuesday 24th February 2015 Dé Máirt, an 24 Feabhra 2015

CMY

750m Swim (30 lengths of Kingfisher Pool) Snámh 750m (30 fad de Linn Snámha Kingfisher) 5km Run in Dangan Rith 5km sa Daingean Sign up now in the Students’ Union, Engineering Building & the Sports Centre. Raise €25 (minimum) to enter Entry includes free t-shirt & food! All proceeds go to the SU Charities: Console and BeLonG To. The Aquathon is a fun event open to all students and staff of all capabilities!

www.su.nuigalway.ie

facebook.com/NUIGalwayStudentsUnion

twitter.com/NUIGSU