Sin Volume 17 Issue 12

Craic Agus Ceol

Social Media

A Nation Rising

We’ve summarised all the Paddy’s Day craic.

Are we too obsessed with getting likes?

We report on events at the grand finale of Arts in Action.

Page 11

Page 15

Page 19

NUI Galway SU wins ‘Best Large Delegation’ in USI Steering Awards

By Jessica Thompson

FREE STUDENT NEWSPAPER | VOL 17, ISSUE 12 | 30 MARCH 2016

The NUI Galway Students’ Union delegation at this year’s USI Congress were delighted to be awarded the ‘Best Large Delegation’ award at a gala event held on the last night of Congress last week.

The four-day Congress saw 270 delegates from various Students’ Unions around the country gather in Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis, to debate various issues affecting the lives of over 350 thousand students in Ireland.

“Words cannot describe just how proud I am for winning the Best Large Delegation at Congress.

Delegates from NUI Galway got up and spoke with such passion and reason on several issues relating to higher education, welfare, the Irish language and more,” said NUI Galway Students’ Union President Phelim Kelly.

The delegation was made up of 20 NUI Galway students, including two media observers, who travelled to Ennis on Monday 21 March to have their say on the various motions put forward over the course of four days.

“The NUIG delegation brings it to the table and I love seeing NUIG winning Best Large Delegation,” NUI Galway graduate and NUI Galway Students' Union delegation at USI Congress last week, pictured current President of the USI Kevin here with USI President Kevin Donoghue (centre, red tie) and USI VP Donoghue told Sin at the end of Border Midlands and Western Region Feidhlim Seoighe (far left).

Congress.

“I think it’s won three years now In a very emotional speech to Congress, Jason both within the industry and those looking to get out of the four Congresses I’ve been at. It Aughney from Blanchardstown IT explained that out of it. always brings its ‘A’ game and makes really “Sex workers should be fully supported when positive contributions. It had great speakers; betting apps make it too easy for students to gamble and lose money. He recounted a battle one of seeking to leave the industry, especially through the president [Phelim Kelly] is really invested his own relatives went through with a gambling the opportunities to reskill or upskill through edu- in the national movement and he’s a really addiction and received a standing ovation from cation,” the motion reads. solid contributor. Everyone on the Officer the floor as students united to support the need “Congress believes decriminalisation would Board team has a lot of respect for him and for USI to take action. ensure that sex workers feel able to report unsafe the work that he does. clients or violence at work, without the worry of “But yeah, you’re one of the best delegaDECRIMINALISING SEX WORK criminal repercussions, work together for safety, tions; you were unbelievable; you were very Because of the continuous rise in living costs, and that those who wish to leave the sex industry are good, contributing all the time and a broad the potential increase in tuition fees, the inad- not left with criminal records as a result of their job. range… it wasn’t just one person always equacy of the maintenance grant, and various “Congress mandates Officer Board to support bringing it. It was a number of people, which other personal reasons, Congress noted the and campaign for the full decriminalisation of sex was very good.” strong possibility that some students do and will work. This is to be done through the support of Another noteworthy award, which went to resort to sex work alongside their studies, in an sex worker organisations who work to improve an NUI Galway delegate, was the Angry Young attempt to stay in college. the lives of sex workers across Ireland.”

Woman award, which went to Laoighseach In August 2015, Amnesty International Congress voted overwhelmingly in favour of Ní Choistealbha, following her passionate adopted a policy to protect the human rights of this motion, as well as the motion to decriminalise speech in one of the Irish Language motions. sex workers and call on member states to ensure drugs – a motion which is of particular interest to Her inspirational conclusion – “Irish is not that sex workers enjoy full and equal legal protec- NUI Galway students who voted in favour of NUI a barrier. Irish is not a barrier. Irish is not a tion from exploitation, trafficking and violence. Galway Students’ Union taking a decriminalisa- barrier” – resulted in a standing ovation from The motion, put forward by the Vice President tion stance on the personal use of drugs. the other delegates. for Equality and Citizenship Annie Hoey, states that there should be far more support for sex workers, Continued on page 2

USI CONGRESS 2016

sees delegates pass “progressive” motions

By Jessica Thompson Some 270 delegates representing over 350 thousand students around Ireland gathered for the annual USI Congress in Ennis last week to discuss a variety of student issues including education, fees, the eighth amendment and problem gambling.

The four-day conference saw delegates from Students’ Unions across the country take to the podium to debate and vote on the various motions, so that USI can take action for students in the coming year.

“I was particularly impressed by the number of people who spoke for the first time, and the frequency with which they spoke afterwards.

I don’t think there was a person in the room nearly who hadn’t spoken on something,” President of the USI Kevin Donoghue told Sin when Congress had ended.

“There were a couple of motions that stood out on the basis that people were very engaged. I was very happy, having served as Education Officer last year, with the level of engagement with the education motions. There were a few motions that you always know are going to be debated.”

Motions passed during the four-day Congress included those on the decriminalisation of sex work and decriminalisation of drugs in Ireland.

A motion to raise awareness about gambling addiction was also passed by an overwhelming majority of voters.

Speaking to Sin after Congress, Vice President for the Border, Midland and Western Regions Feidhlim Seoighe expressed great pride in the level of engagement at Congress this year.

“This Congress was very progressive in the way of approving motions regarding many issues of importance to students across the country, some of which mandate the Officer Board to campaign to allow more Further Education colleges be members of USI, in the decriminalisation of sex workers and solidifying our position of promoting the Irish language,” he said.

The motion on the Gambling Awareness Campaign and Protocol was proposed by IT Blanchardstown SU, and mandates the VP Welfare to liaise with the relevant organisations to develop a protocol for Students’ Union officers to deploy in casework relating to gambling issues.

2 NEWS

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

USI Congress 2016 sees delegates pass “progressive” motions Continued from page 1 A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR DRUG USE

In July 2015, USI National Council formally adopted a stance of support for the decriminalisation of drugs, with a view to taking a similar approach to the one in place in Portugal.

July 2001 saw Portugal decriminalise drug-use, drug acquisitions and possession of illicit drugs when conducted for personal use. Their policy also included a significant expansion in drug treatment, including methadone maintenance, to help dependent users to stop injecting heroin.

“Congress believes there is a need for health professionals, parents and educators to acknowledge the fact that young people often engage in drug use, and at the very least will be exposed to drug use at some point in their lives,” the motion reads.

“Drug use cannot be tackled by policy measures which are only aimed at controlling the supply of drugs. It is futile to only have supply reduction strategies in place of more cost-effective and evidence-based investments in harm-reduction and education.

“Congress mandates Officer Board to lobby for the decriminalisation of drugs in

line with the Portuguese Model. USI should also lobby for investment into treatment and health facilities along with education about drug use and risk for young adults and those of school age.”

USI President Kevin Donoghue was happy to see this motion passed and said that “pushing for higher level lobbying and legislative amendments is probably the most significant contribution that we could make”.

“What I would like to see done is, essentially, we just write a piece of legislation to submit for consideration. They won’t necessarily pass that, but I think that’s the space we need to get ourselves into.”

A number of emergency motions were also discussed on the last day of Congress, with seven out of eight being carried, including a motion about childcare facilities and one arguing that the USI take a stance against breast-ironing as a form of female genital mutilation.

“I think the emergency motions were good. I think it’s positive to get yourself into a space where you can address issues that crop up at Congress. I was very happy to see issues like the Childcare motion being addressed, because the fact that we don’t provide adequate services for people with children is a big problem,” Mr Donoghue

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explained.

“And the refugee one – I wrote that one, so I was happy to see it pass. I was a little bit disappointed that we didn’t have anything about that kind of conflict that’s going on beforehand, but that came through in the emergency motions, so that was good,” he added, referring to a motion urging USI to lobby the new government to increase the agreed intake of refugees displaced by conflict and to actively participate in campaigns to this end.

ANNIE HOEY ELECTED USI PRESIDENT

Day three of Congress saw the election of Annie Hoey, currently Deputy President of USI and Vice President for Equality and Citizenship, to the position of USI President for the 2016/2017 term. Miss Hoey is a graduate of University College Cork.

“I want to thank all the students who voted for me – my goal for the year is to lead a united student movement who will come together to tackle issues like funding of and access to higher and further education, quality of courses and fairness in our society,” she said of her election.

“I’m committed to putting equality and social inclusion at the heart of our agenda for the year ahead – working constructively, but critically with whichever government eventually emerges to make sure the student voice is not just loud and united, but heard and respected.

“I want to pay tribute to Kevin Donoghue, the President whose shoes I will have to fill in July – and to the students and officers who’ve inspired me and made me want to seek election. I hope to do justice to what they’ve taught me and the faith they’ve shown in me.”

Other members of the newly-elected Officer Board for 2016/2017 include Daniel Waugh (Vice President for Campaigns), Jack Leahy (VP Academic Affairs), Cian Power (VP Welfare), Síona Cahill (VP Equality and Citizenship), Mike Kerrigan (VP Border Midland and Western Region), and Niamh Murtagh (VP Southern Region).

Speaking on the elections, current USI President Kevin Donoghue said he couldn’t be happier with the result: “Absolutely the best decision the students could have made was to make Annie Hoey President. She’s unbelievable.

“Considering the challenges we face in relation to decent work, free education and repeal of the eighth amendment, she’s absolutely the right leader for next year. I think she’ll bring each of those three and a number of other items of business for the organisation forward by a lot.

“She has a good team backing her up as well. Síona is her replacement and she is something else, and the team is very strong.

They’re all going to be very good,” he added of the rest of the Officer Board.

“A couple of them reran – Jack and Dan have shown their capacity already and they’ve shown how they can deliver in those areas. It’s a very, very strong team.

This year’s team was the strongest team USI has had in a few years. I think next year’s team will be stronger again.”

USI PRESIDENT LEADS DELEGATES IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE

On the first day of Congress, Mr Donoghue expressed solidarity with the victims of a bus crash in Spain (in which 13 students from across Europe were killed) and with victims of the terror attacks in Brussels.

Before leading the delegates in a moment of silence, Mr Donoghue said: “I want to take a moment to recognise two horrific events in the past few days; the bus crash in Spain which injured two students from Ireland and resulted in the deaths of students from our fraternal partners in Europe is heart-breaking; they were expanding their horizons and striking out in other countries to learn more about their chosen subject and the world around them; we are deeply saddened by their loss. “[The] attacks in Brussels, across the metro network and the airport in that city, have left 13 people dead, families devastated, children without parents and parents without children.

“Our student movement is, of course, powerless to confront the geopolitical mess creating these appalling atrocities; nevertheless, we’ve always been unafraid to stand up for peace, at home and abroad.

“I know that you will want to send a message of sympathy and solidarity with the victims of these events – and to take a moment to think of those outside our movement affected.”

UCD STILL MISSING FROM PROCEEDINGS

It has been three years since UCDSU voted to disaffiliate from USI, and President Kevin Donoghue expressed disappointment in the result of UCD’s recent referendum, in which students voted to remain disaffiliated with the national union.

The referendum was defeated, with 74 percent of students voting for UCD to remain independent of USI – a higher percentage than the original 65 percent who voted to disaffiliate in 2013.

“Obviously we would be disappointed by the result. It is a shame that UCD have decided they do not want to be a part of solving student issues at a national level,” said Mr Donoghue after the result of the referendum.

“In terms of the campaign itself, I think there were a couple of frustrations. Firstly, the No side’s argument was based largely on untruths and the lack of an information campaign, coupled with USI not being allowed to campaign or contribute to any debate, meant there was little opportunity to address people’s concerns.

“Having said that, I think it is worth bearing in mind that USI is still the most united it has ever been and will continue to represent students on a national level to the best of its ability. It would not be fair to suggest that the No campaign was without merit and, as such, we will seek to address the concerns they had, should they be willing to engage with us,” he concluded.

For more information on USI Congress 2016, check out #USI16 on Twitter, recent posts on usi.ie, and look for updates on sin.ie.

NEWS 3

March 30 2016

USI and saying goodbye

By Jessica Thompson Wow, this is emotional.

I’ve been editing Sin for four years now, and I don’t think I have ever enjoyed it as much as I did this year. Issue by Issue, I’ve watched this newspaper grow stronger and better and I hope it continues to do so long after I’m gone.

Of course, I never like to take the credit. While I am the captain that steers this ship, Sin would be nothing without the fine sailors that operate it. This year, I’ve had an unbelievable editorial team by my side, some of whom became my best friends – they know who they are.

It always saddens me to be saying goodbye to the team (and our readers) for the summer – mainly because I never know if I’ll be back in September. But this time it is especially difficult because I feel like I really threw myself into Sin this year.

Last week, I spent four days at USI Congress, as I do every year.

But this year I really engaged with the Students’ Union members, and with other unions and USI. It truly was an experience to see how passionate students can be about various issues.

At Congress, I saw first-hand how hard your Students’ Union fights for you. I watched Phelim Kelly put his incredible leadership skills into practice. I spent time with Jimmy McGovern and listened to his hopes and dreams for next year. I even had a long conversation with Cathal Sherlock about Sin and how it can be made better.

On a national scale, I spent some time talking with USI President Kevin Donoghue, and watched as he led hundreds of students in debate. More locally, I met up with Feidhlim Seoighe who has been a sort of USI hero to Sin and to me all year.

Passion and politics aside, this year has taught me so much, and the people I have shared it with have made my job so much more enjoyable. I’d love to go into detail, but those very people have really eaten into the editorial word count this issue!

But before I hand you over to them, I want to say thank you.

Without my editorial team and the wonderful contributors who make up Sin, I would be nothing.

But without loyal readers such as yourselves, Sin would be nothing.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time, Jess Keep in touch: @jessicadotie

News: Niamh Cullen So here it is! The final issue of 2015/16 has at last fallen upon us. It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a year, with many highs and lows on campus and locally.

We had the pleasure of reporting on some fantastic Students’ Union and NUI Galway campaigns throughout the academic year, such as Rock the Register, Chats for Change and Lend a Hand.

We brought up the ever-growing issues of housing and fees in the Galway area and nationwide and tackled questions surrounding gender equality at NUI Galway and financial hiccups at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).

We welcomed our new Students’ Union and Irish government and bid farewell to the old.

While it’s been a fun-filled adventure with Sin, sadly it’s time to bid farewell. As always, keep reading and won’t somebody please feed my beloved Smokey the Pigeon pumpkin seeds and sighs of admiration?

All the best!

Features: Jenna Hodgins

The time has come; it’s the final issue of volume 17 of Sin. I’ve been writing and editing for Sin for nearly four years now, and the thought of this possibly being my final issue is just – ah, my eyes are leaking a bit.

My final (maybe not, though?) editorial will be inevitably a bit different and more sentimental than usual, plus I’m going over the word count.

Soz, Jess.

I never really knew how interested I was in journalism. I always thought it’d be a fun job but I never knew how much I loved it until I joined Sin. It all began with a girl who was in my class in school. We weren’t necessarily the best of friends, but I remember she shared a post on Facebook about an article that she wrote for her college newspaper and I was super jealous.

And that’s when I googled ‘student newspaper NUIG’, found the editor and sent an overly-eager email before the semester even began. I know that’s terrible, but what can I say? I’m a terrible person. So, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank that girl. Thanks for making me jealous, and motivating me enough to get off my bum and do something about it. Thank you.

I’d also like to thank all the amazing contributors and fellow editors I’ve had the pleasure of working with the past four years, you’re all class! Most of all I’d like to get all soppy and sentimental, and thank Jess Thompson. She had to put up with my crap for nearly four years and still continued to teach me everything I know, and I’m happy to call her both my editor and friend.

Now, pretend this never happened.

Jenna

Lifestyle: Sorcha O’Connor It’s our last issue for this semester – how fast did that fly by? Is it just me or was Christmas only a few weeks ago? We are into ‘crunch time’ in college now with the exams coming up. But fear not as Lifestyle has got you covered: check out the brain food we’ve picked out to keep your mind sharp this exam season.

We also have remedies for puffy and tired eyes after any panic-induced all-nighters that are pulled and, to brighten the mood, a lot of fun things for you to enjoy over summer with our summer bucket list.

Enjoy, thanks for reading and hope you all have a marvellous summer – see you all again in September!

my fellow Sinators (editors!), who made all of this possible.

Being Sin’s Entertainment Editor has been a blast. As always, I hope you enjoyed it all; and that this section meets the standard we have set for ourselves as entertainers.

All the best, and good luck with your exams, Neil

Sport: Aonghus Ó’Maicín In the last issue of Sin this year, we take a look forward to the bustling summer of sport that lies ahead of us. The Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are fast approaching and we examine the names that we rarely hear of before the games.

We also look back at the year that has been and analyse the prospects for the stars of the season. Many sports are reaching the business end of the season if they haven’t been through it already and we’re here to bring you up to date.

Before we go, thanks for joining us this year and we look forward to bringing you the best in the world of sport next Autumn.

Photographer: Timothée Cognard Last issue of the year! Galway has been blossoming with celebrations (St. Patrick’s Day, 1916 commemorations, Easter) and festivals and I can feel how vibrant this summer will be. I hope you will enjoy your holiday time.

For those who want to follow the news in Galway during the summer, you can check my brand new blog: tcognardpress.wordpress.com. Enjoy your time, rest and take care until next year.

Find us online:

www.sin.ie

Entertainment: Neil Slevin Wow, I cannot believe it’s our last issue together. I would like to use this space to thank all of my Entertainment contributors throughout the year: particularly regular columnists Frank Roddy, Darren Coppinger, and Eoghan “Spud” Murphy; regular contributors Dean Buckley and Niamh Cullen; anyone who has had their creative work featured in Resonate; and

Editor: Jessica Thompson editor@sin.ie Layout: Shannon Reeves | contact via Ed. NEWS

Niamh Cullen | localnews.sined@gmail.com FEATURES

Jenna Hodgins | features.sined@gmail.com LIFESTYLE Sorcha O’Connor | fashion.sined@gmail.com ENTERTAINMENT

Neil Slevin | artsentertainment.sined@gmail.com SPORT Aonghus Ó’Maicín | sport.sined@gmail.com

4 NEWS

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

NUI Galway host undergraduate conference The Brain Café

By Niamh Cullen NUI Galway played host to its second undergraduate research conference, The Brain Café, on Wednesday 23 March.

The event gave undergraduate students an opportunity to showcase their research in a supportive academic environment through a multidisciplinary platform.

Students attended and presented at the free conference in the Lower Aula, Quadrangle Building.

Research ideas were conceived and presented to suit The Brain Café’s style – informal,

straightforward and typical of what is commonly known as a “world-café style”. This style incorporates a five to six minute presentation with small round-table discussions.

Rather than utilising Powerpoint or displays, students instead followed The Brain Café’s relaxed call for discussion and handwritten or printed notes.

Students were not required to present, but rather were welcome to attend to explore different research skills and learn from students from all disciplines.

Vice-President for Research at NUI Galway Professor Lokesh Joshi said: “Through

NUI Galway’s commitment to excellence in research we have taken on the ambitious call to action that is to build the language, skills and love of research within our undergraduate student community. If we want to promote our undergraduates’ career, we must involve them as early and as much as possible in research, and we see up-and-coming undergraduates participating in creating the best research.”

The world café style of presenting also involves moving from table to table, and proved very popular in the highly successful inaugural conference last year.

This format is thought to break down the traditional barriers associated with presenting research and makes it more accessible to students.

It eliminates the anxiety linked to the regular style of conference presentation and public speaking.

“Our students are hungry to showcase their work in this nationally unique conference. We are most impressed by the collegial atmosphere of science students listening and engaging with business student presentations and law students weighing in their thoughts with psychology projects. The cross-pollination leads to creative approaches and solutions,” said Conference Coordinator Lorraine Tansey.

NUI Galway ranked ahead of Royal College of Surgeons in World University Rankings

By Niamh Cullen NUI Galway has surpassed the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) in this year’s Top 200 Best Universities in Europe, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2016.

The university came third out of six Irish universities, surpassing RCSI by just one place at 134th.

22 different countries in Europe were represented in the rankings, in which third level institutions are graded based on their teaching and research environment, citations, industry income and international outlook.

The analysis also takes into account both undergraduate and postgraduate performances. THE also utilise 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced com-

Royal Academy Curator to give Create talk at Nuns Island

By Niamh Cullen Kate Goodwin will give a public talk as part of the Arts Council’s Extending Architecture initiative, which is managed by Create.

The curator at the Royal Academy UK is to speak from 7 to 9 in the evening, free of charge at Nun’s Island Theatre, Galway Arts Centre.

The following day, training for arts practitioners in public engagement with architecture will take place. The session is to be held in the same venue from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

The Arts Council is running a national programme of free public talks and training for arts practitioners with an interest in programming, exploring and sharing the cultural and artistic value of architecture with the public.

Kate Goodwin is the Head of Architecture and Drue Heinz Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Her department promotes debate about architecture and its intersection with the other arts.

The training on 2 April is held by architect and visual artist Blaithín Quinn.

parisons. It is highly regarded by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments.

Ireland is said to be “punching above its weight”, according to THE World University Rankings, particularly given its small size and population.

NUI Galway President Dr Jim Browne said: “This is a major achievement for NUI Galway and reflects a consistent upward trend in these very competitive European rankings. This sustained improvement in NUI Galway’s THE World University Rankings is an affirmation of our very focused approach to developing our international reputation in a select set of teaching and research areas, and reaffirms that our position globally is on the rise.

“It is a great tribute to the efforts of many colleagues at a time of financial pressure in the Irish higher education sector that NUI Galway

continues to perform well and enhance our standing in these international metrics.”

NUI Galway is perhaps best known as a research-led university with internationally recognised expertise in areas such as Biomedical Science and Engineering, Web Science, Human Rights, Marine Science, Energy and Environmental Science, Applied Social Sciences and Public Policy, and Humanities.

With over 17,000 students, it is also considered to be one of the fastest growing universities in Ireland. NUI Galway’s inclusion in the prestigious list echoes its previous successful rankings.

It was recently included in the THE Top 200 list of the most international universities in the world 2016. THE had awarded the ranking to NUI Galway to signify that it gives its international students the best possible study experience.

The United Kingdom topped the rankings taking nearly a quarter of places. 46 British universities took the claim in the top 200. Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London all achieved the highest scores of all higher education institutions in the continent.

The rest of the top five were filled by Switzerland’s ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the UK’s University College London (UCL).

Like Ireland, Scandinavian countries were also described as “punching above their weight relative to their population size” .

Sweden and Finland held 11 and six institutions respectively in the top 200 list.

Sweden’s top university, Karolinska Institute, took a resounding ninth place while Finland’s University of Helsinki made the top 30 at 28th.

Denmark was awarded rankings for six universities, with the University of Copenhagen at 33rd.

She will focus on how to facilitate public engagement to develop new attitudes, views and opinions on architecture and the built environment.

In many architectural practices, arts centres, galleries, festivals, civic venues and public spaces around the world, dynamic practitioners are seeking to broaden out the field of architecture beyond the design and construction of buildings. While Kate Goodwin’s talk is open to all, advance booking is advised.

The training on 2 April is specifically open to architects, artists, arts officers, curators, venue programmers, directors, and community organisers with a special interest in sharing architecture and the built environment with the public. Participants can claim structured and affiliated CPD points (RIAI) for attendance at this training.

To book for the public talk on Friday April 1, please visit http://extending-architecture-kate-goodwin.eventbrite.ie/ .

For more information on how to apply for training sessions, email Katherine Atkinson at extendingarchitecture@gmail.com . The Arts Council is the national agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts in Ireland.

Create is the national agency for collaborative arts in Ireland. They provide advice and support services to artists and arts organisations across art forms working collaboratively with communities in social and community contexts.

Send Silence Packing campaign comes to NUI Galway

listening; two, reach out when times are tough; three, find your on and off campus support services at Pleasetalk.org.”

The destigmatising of mental health issues is at the forefront of the campaign says Trease Hannify of pleasetalk.org: “This initiative highlights the need for us to send silence packing and tackle the stigma attached to mental health and suicide which prevents young people from reaching out and seeking help.”

The Send Silence Packing campaign originally derived from a campaign developed by American health organization Active Minds.

Their displays, which included the backpacks donated by families who had lost someone through suicide, found it to be an effective way to spread awareness about mental health and to help remove the stigma involved.

From a survey they issued, 91 percent of survey respondents rated the display as powerful or very powerful and 83 percent reported that it is educational.

Overall, the display has been seen to help bring scope to the severity of suicide among college students by promoting a dialogue around suicide and mental health.

The Send Silence Packing campaign continues to use its compelling displays to raise awareness in various universities and colleges across the country throughout the month of March.

More information on mental health support services can be found on Pleasetalk.org and www.3ts.ie. The NUI Galway counselling services can be contacted by calling 091 492484 or by emailing counselling@nuigalway.ie.

By Emer Flaherty On Monday 14 March, along the floors of Arás na Mac Léinn, 131 bag packs were laid out to represent the average number of college students, between the ages of 19 and 30, who die by suicide in Ireland each year.

The Send Silence Packing campaign invited passers-by to write their own messages on tags and tie them to the bags as a sign of their commitment to breaking the silence around mental health and shifting the way we approach the topic.

The collective campaign, by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), 3ts (turn the tide on suicide), and Pleasetalk.org hope to use the stark display to raise awareness about the impact of suicide, connect students to mental health support services, and prompt action for suicide prevention.

The Irish campaign, initially launched on the lawn of Trinity College Dublin, offers an opportunity to start a conversation about mental health issues and provide support on how young people might broach the topic of suicidal crisis.

According to Scott Ahern of 3ts, the campaign spreads a crucial yet simple message: “Our messages are simple. One, be there for someone by simply

NEWS 5

March 30 2016

Summer work in Spain with TECS

NUI Galway hosts annual ISDA festival

By Ryan Mc Guinness

By Rachel Brownlow

The English Centre Suppliers (TECS) are recruiting NUI Galway students for work over the summer in southern Spain. The summer school is a mixture of language learning combined with fun activities like sports, excursions and a number of other pursuits for the benefit of the campers. This work experience would look great to any employer.

Established in 1997, TECS aims to offer the best education and the highest quality of language learning activities for young people and adults. A total of 10 camps are run, and about 200 staff members are hired for a variety of jobs.

These include numerous positions like English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, catering staff and drivers. The EFL jobs require some basic experience and further information regarding requirements are on the website found below.

Contracts vary from two to eight weeks but the majority of the positions are two to four week contracts. All positions also have at least five days of training before camp so you won’t have to worry about a lack of experience going in.

Camp days are structured similarly to

American camps as the staff are involved in a wide range of activities throughout the day. These include leading sports, excursions and evening entertainment for the campers. Class sizes are normally between 11 to 13 students, varying from camp to camp.

People from all over Europe looking to further their experience working with foreign language children come to the TECS camps, so you’ll become part of an international team of like-minded individuals. As a result you’ll make friends that will last a lifetime.

To get a better idea of what others thought of the camp testimonials are available to read on the website.

This would be a great experience for anyone wishing to work with children or who want to teach English or any other language after their college degree. It would also suit people wishing to learn or teach Spanish in the future. Camp monitors must be 19 years of age before the start of camp and usually teachers must be 21 or older.

If you wish to apply online or to view any and all of the job profiles, access tecsemployment.com, and for a complete picture of camp life, check out http://www.tecs.es.

Interviews for NUI Galway students will be held on the April 6. For further information contact Emily at recruit9@tecs.es.

NUI Galway was the host this year for the annual Irish Student Drama Association (ISDA) festival.

The ten day event took place from 14-23 March.

ISDA is the joint organisation for Ireland’s most innovative third level drama societies. Its main objective is to provide a platform with which drama devised and acted by students can be promoted.

It acts as a channel to bond together the drama societies of many different Irish universities, giving them the chance to share their work and love of drama in a social environment, interacting on a creative level.

ISDA’s main focus is to encourage the growth of the talent which is abundant in universities across the country.

Ireland has a widespread and enthusiastic spread of young actors and ISDA enables them to be involved in drama completely throughout their university life.

The association was founded in 1947 and can boast about being a boost in the beginning of careers of many successful actors such as Chris O’Dowd, Pauline McLynn, Barry McGovern and many more.

The festival is the highlight of the ISDA’s year. It involves a week-long collaboration during which the different universities convene together to display their shows. The festival this year was hosted

NUI Galway’s Dramasoc, winners of the Bank of Ireland Bursary.

Throughout the week, Galway was home to multiple shows from universities including NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, Queens University Belfast, University College Cork and many more.

Shows were performed throughout Galway theatres such as The Mick Lally Theatre, Bank of Ireland Theatre and An Taibhdhearc.

Tickets were reasonably priced at €3 for ISDA volunteers and those involved with ISDA productions, €5 for students and €8 for non-members.

Some colleges held up to three shows performed throughout the festival, with Freak, Someone who’ll watch over me, Punk Rock and Secret Garden only a few of the many intriguing shows involved. The judges in charge of overseeing the festival were Mitch Michelson and Paula Dempsey.

Mitch is a teacher, performer and freelance director. He has an international profile, having run workshops for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as in Hong Kong, Italy, Austria and Belgium.

Paula Dempsey is a professional actor and director who has worked on programmes including The Accrington pals and The Wild Poppy Blowing for RTE radio. She has won awards for directing The Beauty Queen of Lenane. She has an honours BA and MA in Modern Drama Studies.

Ireland Funds competition calls on RTÉ presenter Vincent Woods to host entrepreneurial postgraduates and alumni Irish Republic interviews at NUI Galway

By Niamh Cullen The Ireland Funds Business Plan competition is running again this year and is open until 7 April.

Now in its fifth year, it aims to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills amongst recent graduates and postgraduate students.

Such members of society are considered to be early stage entrepreneurs who play a crucial role in developing indigenous industries, attracting investors and, ultimately, creating jobs across Ireland.

“We got a brilliant response from NUI Galway students in previous years who’ve shown a keen interest in the competition,” said Ireland Funds’ Katia Tikhoniouk.

“Essentially, we want to get as many entrepreneurial students as possible to enter the competition, as it’s a brilliant opportunity. The chosen start-ups or ideas will receive mentoring and pitching coaching, and the winner will receive €10,000 and other supports for their idea.”

The competition is open to postgraduate students and to alumni within two years of graduation from universities and institutes of technology in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Ireland Funds Business Plan competition is made possible through the support of William S. McKiernan, founder of CyberSource Corporation.

William is an online commerce pioneer who propelled CyberSource to a leading world company, processing over $100 billion each year for 300,000 customers. In 2010, the company was acquired by Visa, Inc. for $2 billion.

William is also the chair of the judging panel for The Ireland Funds Business Plan competition, bringing his experience as an entrepreneur and

as a judge of the Harvard University Business Plan competition.

Last year, Belfast tech start-up Ivea Labs won €10,000 as part of the annual Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition for their product Visit, a dual-aspect technology solution that will change the way tourists interact with exhibitions.

Specifically targeted at Northern Irish tourism, Visit’s appeal allows tourists to receive free information about a piece in an exhibition directly to their phone via Bluetooth.

It also allows attraction owners to gather accurate visitor analytics in a non-intrusive way.

The group, made up of Andrew Boyd, Victoria Potts, Adam Whiteside and Alex Caskey are from Queen’s University Belfast.

“As always, we’re looking for innovative business ideas from Ireland’s early stage entrepreneurs for our competition,” said Caitriona Fottrell, Vice President and Director Ireland at Ireland Funds.

“Convince us that your business idea is the next big thing and we’ll provide you with training and support to help you both develop and pitch your idea. This competition has attracted extremely impressive and creative ideas in the past and we look forward to receiving a wide variety of applications again this year,” she said.

Up to 10 individuals or teams will be selected and given the chance to bring their business ideas from concept to pitch, receiving mentoring and feedback throughout the process.

At the final on June 22, a panel of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from Ireland and the US will review the finalists’ business plans and select the winners. The winner will receive €10,000, whilst two runners up will receive €5,000 and €1,000 respectively.

By Niamh Cullen A series of interviews with public figures exploring the contemporary relevance of the ideas and ideals that led to the formation of the Irish state will be held in NUI Galway next April.

The talks, as organised by the university’s Centre for Irish Studies, will explore the definition of a republic, whether Ireland fits into that definition, re: imagined republics and whether that is relevant to the Irish revolution and proclamation of 1916, and the role of art and politics in creating an Irish civic society.

The interviews will be conducted by playwright Vincent Woods, presenter of Arts Tonight on RTÉ Radio, and will be held every Wednesday during the course of April. The events will feature public figures who have committed their lives and careers to realising their own vision of an Irish republic.

The first interview will take place on Wednesday 6 April with socialist and republican activist and community worker Bernadette McAliskey.

She is the youngest woman to have ever been elected in the British House of Commons, which occurred in 1969.

On 20 April, Fr Peter McVerry will be discussing questions on the republic, Ireland’s revolution and an envisaged Ireland. The famous Belfast-born priest is known best for his work tackling homelessness across the Republic of Ireland, in addition to being a strong advocate of many pressing social issues around the ideals of equality.

On 27 April, Irish artist, painter and designer Robert Ballagh will take to the university to discuss his idea of an Irish Republic with Vincent Woods.

Strongly influenced by pop art, he is especially well known for his hyper realistic renderings of Irish literary, historical and establishment figures.

The interviews will take place in the Ó hEocha Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, NUI Galway and will be held from 6.30-8 in the evening. All events are open to students, staff and lecturers, as well as the general public and are free to attend.

The talks follow a host of 1916 celebrations held throughout the university.

NUI Galway hosted a lecture by Monsignor Pádraig De Brún entitled ‘Fairies, Rebels, Mothers: Lady Gregory and 1916’, as delivered

by Professor Lucy McDiarmid, Marie FrazeeBaldassarre Professor of English at Montclair State University in the US, on Tuesday 22 March.

The event in the Aula Maxima was a biennial public lecture held in honour of Monsignor de Brún who served as University President from 1945 until 1959.

The memorial lectures have been running since the 1960’s with Professor Stephen Hawking giving a lecture in 1994 on ‘Life in the Universe’, and have always been free to attend.

The university also took part in a nationwide celebration as schools, colleges and universities held ceremonies on Monday 15 March to signify the Proclamation of Independence.

The event involved readings of the Proclamation both in English and in Irish, the raising of the Tricolour, Students’ Union and University of Students in Ireland flags and attendance by members of the Defence Forces.

This November, NUI Galway will hold an international conference exploring two themes: the vision and aspiration of the revolutionary generation; and the challenges facing Ireland in 2016.

It will include academic contributions from Ireland’s universities and institutions, in addition to leading international figures.

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Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

AN BHIALANN An Bhialann Restaurant is located in the centre of the NUI Galway Campus under the James Hardiman Library. Open from 8am in the morning until late in the evening we have something to suit all tastes.

Whether you are looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, healthy dishes or simply a hot beverage and snack, we offer a wide range of menus at affordable prices. Choose your favourite sandwich from our popular deli counter, home style favourites from our traditional counter, tasty burgers and sides from our Burger Shack or a Chicken your way deal from our popular Chicken Shack counter including a range of tasty marinated chicken and selection of side orders.

We work closely with local suppliers to ensure the best quality produce is sourced to deliver a high quality food offering to customers on campus.

Also located in An Bhialann food hall are recognised popular high street brands Subway and Starbucks. Choose your favourite Starbucks coffee from a menu of standard coffee drinks, flavoured coffees, Iced Coffees and Frappuccinos to suit your taste.

Whatever you’re in the mood for, Subway have a range of subs, salads, treats and drinks to choose from. Every one of our subs is made fresh in front of you, exactly the way you want it on the bread of your choice. You choose the salad and sauce you like too. Watch out for our

Your receipt.. our treat.

Bring your receipt from your morning coffee purchase and we’ll treat you to 50cent off from 2pm-4pm.

National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway © 2016 Starbucks Coffee Company. All rights reserved.

Galway: The Best Bits As the end of semester two approaches and I near the end of first year in NUI Galway, I’ve taken the time to reflect on all that the university and the city of Galway has offered me as a young student.

The Campus

Breakfast Offer from 8.30am – 11.00am Simply pick up a voucher in store & get your 6” Mega Melt for only €2 Valid until 26/04/2016

Coming to university and moving away from home didn’t initially present itself as a daunting task. However, moving out and being thrown into a living situation different to one I’d ever known before wasn’t without its challenges.

Housemates, room-mates and different people from different cultures and backgrounds all mixed together posed its problems for everyone.

However, as difficult as the first few weeks were, the city of Galway felt like home. All I had to do was leave my accommodation and walk through campus and on into the city centre in order to put all my problems, big or small in perspective.

The grounds of NUI Galway and its ancient, scenic quadrangle provided me with a home away from home in Galway. Even now, the single best way to clear my head is by walking through the picturesque campus. By far one of my favourite areas to walk on campus is the path from the Engineering building to the Kingfisher club and onto the Concourse. This route will always remind me of First Year and its fantastic memories.

The City Galway City will forever be one of my favourite places in the world, from a young age I have fond memories of holidaying in Galway with my family, little did I know back then I would be in university in Galway! The City is jam packed with Untitled-1 1

10/03/2016 11:21:24

meal deal special offers and new product introductions throughout the year.

As part of our commitment to healthy eating on the campus, The Irish Heart Foundation awarded Aramark’s Food Services team at NUI Galway’s An Bhialann Restaurant with the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award in November 2015. The team received this award in recognition of their efforts in providing a range of healthy food choices for customers.

Laura McMahon, Aramark’s General Manager at NUI Galway said: “Our Food Services team is dedicated to providing and promoting a balance of low fat, healthy food choices in its restaurant daily in line with our Right Track health and wellness programme. We focus on providing choice to customers, offering a wide variety of full and low fat foods with low salt and sugar content.”

Customer satisfaction is our priority. We run regular surveys in An Bhialann and have recently introduced our feedback programme ‘Your Voice Counts’, which can be accessed online to ensure that we get regular and current feedback about our products and services.

There is always a welcome for you in An Bhialann and our Facebook page is regularly updated with all the latest news, food offers, promotions and much more. Don’t forget to like and share our page for all the up to date information: www.facebook.com/AnBhialannNUIGalway.

culture and heritage, recently named a bilingual city, Galway doesn’t hesitate in providing something for everyone at any time of the year.

The Food and Nightlife Another wonderful aspect of Galway for me is the food experience. There are so many places to eat (and drink) in Galway that you’re never out of options. With so many hidden gems and eateries for all appetites, you’re totally spoiled for choice no matter what your taste is.

In addition, what is better than eating outdoors with the sun beating down on Quay Street while watching all the St. Patricks day revellers taking in Galway City?

One of my favourite memories of Galway so far is definitely enjoying St Patrick’s Day at the Spanish Arch with good people. In addition, the nightlife in Galway is second to none, with cheap entry into the city’s clubs and plenty of quaint little pubs, there’s something for everyone whether you enjoy a quiet night out with friends or a buzzing club atmosphere.

The people Be they your NUI Galway lecturers or the bar staff at the local pub, since I came to Galway I’ve found the local Galwegians to be a sound bunch of people. The friendly welcomes and the céad míle fáiltes bestowed on all who enter the city of Galway make for a very enjoyable stay in the city. In addition, the common spoken Gaeilge that you can hear all over the city and even on the famous Feda Bus transport service allow for resounding memories of Galway city and all that goes with it.

FEATURES 7

March 30 2016

NUI Galway students attend AIESEC meet-up

By Teodora Bandut AIESEC, the world’s largest student-run organisation, has provided me with tremendously enriching opportunities ever since I decided to join in January.

We, the student members, with the aid of the national team made up of five specialised co-ordinators, facilitate six to eight week volunteering experiences in projects in Nepal, Morocco, Tanzania and five other partner countries. AIESEC entities, however, are active in 126 different countries all over the world.

As the NUI Galway Local Chapter (LC) currently stands at seven members, our primary goal is the establishment and expansion of our entity, though the organisation usually demands far more intricate responsibilities.

AIESEC trains its members to be capable, reliable, self-motivated individuals. The main goal is to unearth our own leadership skills while we help others attain the experience of a lifetime. And I think that is incredibly beautiful.

One way to provide guidance and motivation to members is through national (and occasionally international) conferences, which are held in all of the participant countries. This is where all of the LCs (TCD, UCC and UCD) in Ireland get together and are profoundly inspired to #DoTheThing .

I was lucky enough to represent NUI Galway along with our LC President at the start of March at the snowy and whimsical Kippure Estate in Co. Wicklow.

We were quickly immersed in the very zealous, and sometimes slightly alarming AIESEC culture – from roll calls (introducing your LC through rudimentarily-choreographed dances to representative melodies) to effective communication, the discovery of your preferred leadership style, marketing, problem-solving seminars and many, many more.

Intense: the three days cannot be described in any other way. The weekend just flew by – I was never idle; between activities, both serious and less so, that were planned to the last detail and meeting passionate, wonderful people, I felt truly stimulated constantly.

NatCo (National Conference) has transformed my AIESEC experience. I now feel part of a family, something much bigger. My work was finally put into perspective and was certainly made clearer.

Meeting people who had actually gone on exchange and listening to their powerful speeches upon returning was just magical.

Most of all, I was moved by the story our conference chair told us, (and more strikingly showed us pictures of ) about the children he encountered while teaching in Argentina.

Their lives were enveloped by abject poverty; their playground was on a landfill site where they had built a castle out of trash, their walks home from school (the children had invited Felipe over to their houses) would pass mountains of (and scattered) garbage only to lead to houses that looked like they should have been long-abandoned.

And still, there was not a single sad face in the pictures we were showed. Felipe recalled how every unusual or interesting thing the children would find (most often searching through the garbage) they would give to him

as a token of their appreciation. Although they had nothing, their sense of giving was more developed than we can ever conceive.

Because I got to spend a lot of time with people who knew a lot more than me, I feel like a learned so much, especially with respect to my function within the NUI Galway LC. It was overwhelming at first, but the likes of TCD treat AIESEC very seriously.

A lot of people are working very hard to ensure a successful year and I am very proud to be part of such an important initiative.

AIESEC is signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals put forward by the UN and our programmes, especially Global Citizen, are tailored specifically to achieving these goals.

NatCo is certainly an experience I would recommend to future NUI Galway members; it is vital to the running of a successful LC and meeting like-minded people who are working towards the same goal is a tremendous feeling.

If you would like to volunteer abroad this year, sign up at bit.ly/gcitizenie and or get in touch through our Facebook page: AIESEC in NUI Galway.

Not letting the summer buzz get you down Days are getting longer, hair is getting lighter, skin is getting burnt – ah it must be summer.

Well nearly: as the good weather hits Galway and we all put our hats and scarves away for another season, it’s easy to see the anticipated approach of the Irish summer creeping up on us.

Summer means different things for all of us, for some it means a summer job, having an endless amount of time to work and make enough money to put ourselves through college for another year or to save up for a postgraduate degree.

It could mean saving up for a new phone, or a laptop or just being financially independent.

For others, summer means coming back to the homestead, seeing family and old friends frequently again, and not travelling to college each week. It can be a time to plan adventures and make new friends, to catch up with old friends.

For others summer is a time to go to festivals and maybe even go abroad on holiday with close friends, provided you’re not cash strapped and your passport is in date – unlike mine.

Whatever summer means to you is what is important. I know for me it will mean meeting friends, having more time on my hands, going out in new places and most of all working to replenish the money I spent during the college term.

I’ll see all my old friends, make new ones and meet up with college friends. I’ll work and socialise, eat and sleep. It’s important to remember though, and especially in the age of social media, that your summer is what you make it. I know for some of us this innocent little six letter word can be daunting and send a shiver down your spine.

‘What if I don’t go on holiday? What if I’m working all the time? What if I don’t get to meet my friends as much as I want to?’ These burning questions can cause much fear at the dawn of a new summer season. But why?

In the era of Facebook, and the evil that is Snapchat, people around the word have the opportunity to tell the world about the good (and bad) things happening in their lives, and

that’s great. We are all inter-connected and suddenly our little lives are broadcast to a wide audience.

Everyone has a summer album containing hundreds of photos of their latest adventure, cute holiday pictures where the sun is always shining and everyone is always smiling are circulating, and suddenly, without you even noticing it creep up, it seems like everyone is having a better summer than you.

You’ve got yourself a case of feeling like you’re not experiencing your summer right, like everyone is doing a better job at enjoying summer and carrying out great summer plans than you are. So your friend went to a festival this week and you didn’t. So what? You’ll be travelling the Wild Atlantic Way next week and maybe your other friend will feel like they’re missing out.

Sometimes, for many of us it feels like summer brings with it a new set of expectations.

You’re expected to experience all the country has to offer a college student on the cusp of proper adulthood. Suddenly sitting at home on a Friday evening binge-watching Skins on Netflix because you just don’t feel like going out is not okay. You are expected to be doing something else with that Friday evening, just because it’s July and not November.

So you don’t get to go Island-hopping and get a great tan as evidence, so you don’t jet off to Budapest to stay in an exotic little hostel; maybe you checked out the Arts Festival in Galway and didn’t stray too far from reality in the Summer of 2016, did that mean that you didn’t enjoy yourself as much as the next person? Not at all.

Perhaps the next time you see someone’s exploding summer album full of sunny pictures, maybe look at the bigger picture and realise that the best bits are published on social media. You can be sure that everyone will sit at home just as much as you this summer, and that the boring bits won’t be broadcast on the internet because who wants to see boring pictures of you and your dog on a wet July afternoon?

St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Photo by: Timothée Cognard.

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Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

TOP 4 TIPS TO HELP YOU

By Jenna Hodgins

W

ith the end of the semester looming over us, or for some the end of college, it’s that time of year when we have to do what I hate most in the world: think about the future.

Some of you will be looking for a part-time or summer job to help bring in the cash dollar for the year ahead, while others will begin the dreaded big step onto the career ladder. Here are a few tips to get you started on this next part of your journey, and remember there is always help when you need it.

Dust off your CV and give it a much needed facelift

The most obvious, but still the most important step in finding a job is to polish that CV of yours. Employers do not care for your LCVP CV that’s full of fake babysitting jobs and that cover letter ringing out buzz words such as “enthusiastic” and “hardworking” - pfft, been there done that.

Your CV and cover letter are your first impressions to an employer; they are intended to introduce your skills and abilities that are backed up by your experience.

When writing your CV, think carefully about the company or

industry you’re applying to and if possible, tailor your cover letter to directly address that company.

A CV or cover letter that is too generic is off-putting to employers and doesn’t show how much you’d like to work for that company.

Experience-wise, demonstrate all relevant experiences be it academic or professional first. List off relevant modules and your grade e.g. Marketing – 73%, Media Ethics – 2.1. Don’t disregard any relevant volunteering or unpaid work experience relevant to the job you’re applying for – paid or not, it is still experience!

Avoid making your CV a PhD thesis. Short but concise, please for the love of God do not waffle

– there’s no word count you need to meet here. They say maximum 2 pages, with all the most important information on the first page because that’s where you want to grab and hold their attention.

Where to look Now that your CV is class, you now have to go find that dream job. Well, maybe just job. Where you go job-hunting will depend on what sort of job you’re looking for.

Classic summer or part-time job

As much as many of you will hate this, personally I find the best way to find a job is to leave the comfort of your bed and go window-shopping – job posts usually are on the

window!

Pop in and ask for the manager, have a little chat with them about if they have any available positons or when they will have them, ask if you can give them your CV and so on. If they only take online applications don’t force your paper CV on them, it’ll just wind up in the bin.

Other places you can look are the millions of job advertisement websites out there. The best ones, in my opinion, are indeed.ie, jobs. ie, and monster.ie.

If you’re looking for work in Galway, subscribe to the Students’ Union job email alerts. They email you as soon as a job opportunity is available, and will send you details of vacancies from varying

Where do I go from here? Worker’s Rights

By Jenna Hodgins Your final set of exams are ahead of you and you still haven’t a clue what you’re doing with your life. Here’s a brief overview of the resources available here in the college to help you sort your life out before you go.

Dear fellow final year undergraduates, and our loving counterparts, postgraduates, Are you freaking the bean, or is that just me? I understand some of you have your heads screwed on and actually have a life plan, which is great don’t get me wrong, I envy you!

I haven’t a clue where I’m going and what I’m doing with my life. I only learned how to empty out the hoover bag the other week.

However, I know I’m not alone – future life-planning wise, I could possibly be alone with the hoover bag thing. Anyway, for that reason I did some research.

I chatted to a few people about life and all that jazz, and they helped me relax about the lack of life plan, and it is only right that I should share.

IT’S NOT OVER YET

Regardless of your age, it’s never too late to kick-start your career. So don’t succumb to the pressure to know exactly what your life plan is at the moment. Trust me, don’t. You still have a set of exams to sit and/or continuous assessment to survive (sorry for being a killjoy) and the last thing you need is the added stress of future plans and/or an existential crisis.

PRIORITISE

Get this semester over and done with first. Do your best to be your best. If you can spare the time to start think-

ing about postgraduate courses, PhDs, jobs and careers then good but if you cannot, don’t worry. You’ve a whole summer ahead of you after your exams.

I understand that there are deadlines for postgraduate course applications prior to the exams, but only worry about the closest deadline approaching.

Most importantly, look after you.

Future you won’t happen if you run yourself to the ground. If the stress is becoming a little too much mental health-wise, there’s no problem in asking for some professional help. Talk to the counselling service at 5 Distillery Road or visit your GP if possible.

USE THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU

Unsure about what course or career path may suit you? Or are you in need of some help with that life plan of yours? Alleviate the stress of your applications by availing of some of the services available while you’re still in the college.

Visit the Career Development Centre, and read their emails! They host helpful seminars, talks and workshops which are great starting points for finding out what you’d like to do in the future, or great insights for those who already know their desired career path. They are also useful for networking, meet the professionals and ask questions.

Contact the Students’ Union if you’re unsure where to turn, it’s their job to point you in the right direction! Or talk to your year head/ course co-ordinator.

If you’re considering returning back to college and have a few courses in mind, but are unsure about which course is the one, talk to the head of the programmes you’re applying for –

they are here to help. Arrange to meet them, or communicate via email. Prepare some questions you may have about the course, career prospects, timetables, anything!

YOU’RE IN NO RUSH

Don’t feel pressured to immediately land that dream job, or to hop straight onto the next level be it a level 9 or 10. It’s okay to take some time out.

Application deadlines for PhD programmes vary, and some will accept proposals the following January so not all is lost. As for postgraduate courses, you can apply again next year. If you’re finished with college completely, remember it is okay not to get that dream job straight away.

Anyway, maybe a year out is exactly what you need. You could spend the year working and saving some money for any future plans that take your fancy, like travel. Don’t have enough money to travel? How about work and travel?

Check out websites such as workabroad.com, extremegapyear.com or talk to a possible work visa programme with USIT. Maybe learn a new skill, take a night class in something you’ve always wanted to do. Learn to live!

If you’re worrying about money, please stop. It will work out. If you’re worried about fees and funding, talk to the support services listed above, they’ll advise you on scholarships, funding opportunities and SUSI fee relief for your postgraduate career.

If you’re finished with college, get job hunting. However, finding work isn’t always successful straight away.

Pop into your local resource centre and have a chat about your options as a student regarding social welfare and internship programmes that will benefit your future career.

By Michael Glynn So you’ve entered the workforce: congratulations my friend, enjoy having money in your pocket that wasn’t scrounged from between couch cushions.

I’ve always loved having a job myself – well, I enjoyed having money – but jobs can actually be a fun time, nice way to meet new people and in some cases, make you want to rip your own hair out due to sheer frustration.

You may not be having a good time at your new job but for the love of god, let that be only due to the work, if you are being mistreated by a manager or any other employee, it is up to you to know your rights and stand up for yourself. I’ve worked with plenty of people too terrified of losing their job to actually speakup, because they don’t realise that if they’re being mistreated and speakup, they cannot be harmed.

So I’m going to give you the lowdown on the important stuff here.

KNOW YOUR PAY: Make sure you

are earning the amount you are entitled to. If you are over 18 and have been working for two years, you are entitled to the full minimum wage of €9.15 (disregarding mandatory deductions from wages for food etc. these are unfortunately legal).

KNOW YOUR BREAKS: It is impor-

tant that you are receiving the breaks which are set in regards to a healthy amount of work. If you are working a shift that is four and a half hours long, you are entitled to a 15 minute break. If you are working for six hours or more, you are entitled

to a half an hour break. If you are working for any length of time eight and a half hours or more, you are entitled to one fifteen minute break and one half hour break. Unfortunately, you are not entitled to any pay on these breaks as they are not considered a part of working time.

In addition to this, you are entitled to an 11 hour rest period between shifts; that means that if you finish work at 8pm in the evening, the earliest that you can start working again is 7am in the morning – this one is important as it is abused a lot.

KNOW YOUR DIGNITY: If you are

being bullied or sexually harassed at work, know that while you may feel powerless, you hold all the cards, and things will be ok, as long as you play them right. When bullying occurs in the workplace, it is important to always remain calm, and use the correct channels when filing a complaint; this is most important when the harassment is coming from a manager.

It won’t do to lose your cool and start yelling at somebody; that is a situation where only you lose.

Breath slowly; use careful direct phrases such as, “I am not comfortable with what you just said, please don’t say it again” and then you’re in the clear, you’ve made it known that it is not ok, and now any complaint will be taken seriously.

It is tough to cover everything and obviously this is only a small part of what you need to know, however I feel like these are the most important.

Even still, don’t forget to find more information out for yourself at websites such as: citizensinformation.ie and siptu.ie.

FEATURES 9

March 30 2016

ON YOUR JOB HUNT industries from retail, hospitality, tourism, international opportunities, drama, and so much more.

Contact Joanna Brophy for more details: Joanna.Brophy@nuigalway.ie

link is tagged and you can use the search box or browse to see what tags are covered” .

• www.gradireland.com • www.careersportal.ie • www.prospects.ac.uk • www.targetjobs.co.uk

Graduate, big-person jobs

Visit the Career Development Centre. You don’t need an appointment, just call in to their enquiries desk. Read the literature available on career prospects, CV-writing and interview tips relevant to your career choice, and even use their PCs to search for that dream job.

The Career Development Centre’s website recommends these websites to kick start your job hunt: • www.delicious.com/careersinfo - “this is where we (Career Development Centre) add the links we come across that have relevant information for students and new graduates. Each

Visit career fairs

Meet your potential employers and current employees and ask the questions you probably wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to ask. Don’t forget to check out the company or institution directly for their job vacancies, even contact them about work experience opportunities – you never know!

Prepare for the Interview Congratulations, but just because you’ve come this far doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax just yet.

You still need to prepare for your interview.

Know your CV inside and out.

In the majority of interviews, the interviewer will go through your CV or have a copy in front of them for reference. This is where people get caught out for CV fibbing the most, so don’t lie – there’s no need to because you’re fabulous as it is already!

Dress appropriately. Try and suss out the dress code of the company and attempt to recreate that for the interview. Now, that doesn’t mean you go out and buy the staff uniform. In that case, maybe have a nosey at the seniors or managers’ attire. If all else fails, just go for the trusty suit trouser and shirt combination – works for all.

Prepare situational examples that demonstrate all your skills and abilities. For example, your interviewer may ask the question “Can you give me an example of when you were a part of a team, and what role did you play?”

To avoid awkward silences and blanking on the spot, have an example prepared. Think back to your old job or to when you were a part of a society or club, a group project, or when you volunteered and so on. The best way (I find) to answer these questions is by using the STAR technique: Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Use this model to structure your answer: it’ll make it sound more concise and confident and will result in less waffle and “hmm” and “emm” moments.

Be patient Unfortunately, due to the times we’re in, finding a job isn’t as easy as it used to be. Don’t be too disappointed if you’re unsuccessful; you’re not a failure. There’s just a lot of competition out there.

Always think of an unsuccessful interview or application as good practice. Never turn down an inter-

view either, even if you’re not too keen on the job itself. It’s always good to practice, practice, practice!

Don’t be afraid to seek feedback on your application or interview, generally employers will cooperate and give you a response on the good and points that you could improve for the future. And remember: just because you were unsuccessful before doesn’t mean you will be again – if the same vacancy appears, apply again. What better way to demonstrate how determined your cover letter described you as?

Best of luck on your job hunt, and never give up! If you’re struggling to find work and don’t know where you’re going wrong, visit the Career Development Centre or your local resource centre. Your resource centre will also be able to provide information on alternative opportunities such as social welfare, internships and work experience opportunities.

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Wed 6 April Bernadette McAliskey Wed 13 April Thomas Kilroy

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Image by Ceara Conway www.cearaconway.com

MA in Irish Studies (Literature and History)

‘To trouble the living stream’: 1916‐2016

10 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

Home is: my wife Andrew, Australian in Japan

Home is: tea Georgie, New Zealander in Japan

’ve always believed that home is where you feel you belong. It’s a place where you feel comfortable just being yourself. When I met my now wife Ayaka I realized that I found that place. I first travelled to Japan not knowing where I was heading in life. It was my first time to live overseas and my first big adventure out of “home”.

As cliché as it sounds, meeting and falling in love with Ayaka I started to feel whole. I felt that I belonged and I was comfortable just being me. I had found the person who I could complete and that completed me. She is the person who I know I can share all of life’s ups and downs with, all laughter and all tears and great obsession with the works of Disney and Ghibli!

Bizarrely, I think that to really find “home” you have to step out from what you find comfortable. You need to take a risk, and find the parts of yourself you never knew existed. Then you’ll find the place where you really belong.

y mum always had an array of herbal tea in the cupboard, and my best friends and I often had cups of tea together while watching movies, doing crosswords, or having Sunday morning chats. We amassed quite the collection of herbal, green and black tea, all housed in a dedicated Tea Cupboard.

I missed my mum and best friends a lot, living so far away from them. Making and drinking tea in Japan made me feel a small connection to both my friends and family in New Zealand, and my new home in Shizuoka prefecture, where drinking green tea was especially common as the region produces some of the best tea in Japan.

Having different kinds of tea with me in Japan made me feel at home as well, as that’s how tea has always been for me - never just one box or kind. One important aspect of drinking tea, both in Japan and in New Zealand, is offering it to guests that visit your home. It made me feel relaxed and at home to be able to make tea for people that visited me.

I very much felt like the place I was living was my home when I shared my space with friends over cups of tea.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: What kind of home have you made?

By Katie Hennessy I’ve been doing my research and it turns out that home is not a place anymore. When you move four times in two years you start to realise this.

For me it’s been Wicklow, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Wicklow, and then Galway. Next year, who knows? If we’re all moving all the time, does home even exist? If you can’t tie it down to a place, then it’s got to be something else.

The concept began to fascinate me when I moved to Tokyo, where even the most educated Japanophile can feel lost in translation. In a city that size you’re never too far away from loneliness. But this is not something to fear; in fact it should be embraced, because it has proved to be the most liberating of experiences.

The first time I thought about it was after an improv comedy class. One of us was musing about our shared interest in publically embarrassing ourselves in the name of good fun. What made us do it? I knew for sure that I wouldn’t have signed up had I not been a thousand miles from home, in a city where I was practically anonymous. What was obvious was that despite the appearance of vulnerability in improv comedy, it was a place of comfort, one which we all kept returning to.

I began to think about other friends, those who were happy to stay in this strange country and those who weren’t. There were common traits among the settled foreigners; everyone had their own hobbies, rituals, and people they could ground themselves in. They had consciously or subconsciously constructed a home from home.

I had been keen to take on a portrait project and now I had my concept, I started pitching the idea to friends. The support was overwhelming and the time I spent working on it has given me some of the fondest memories I have of Japan.

I can honestly say there’s nothing better than hanging out with a friend, giving them your undivided attention and saying ‘I’m here and I want to know about what’s most important to you’.

When I left Tokyo for Cambodia last summer, the people and their stories kept coming. Now I’m back in Ireland I’ll continue the project. I want to know what kind of homes people have made for themselves here.

Ultimately I’ve discovered that home is less about location and more about identity. My friend Andrew says it best: “I think that to really find home you have to step out from what you find comfortable. You need to take a risk, and find the parts of yourself you never knew existed. Then you’ll find the place where you really belong.”

See the full project at www.homefromhomeproject.com. If you’re interested in taking part, go to the ‘About’ section to get in touch.

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Home is: the streets Buccy, Khmer in Cambodia

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ambodia is home to me because I was deported, it wasn’t my choice. It’s where me and my family’s from; we’re Khmer, it’s our blood line. I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand because of the killing field regime. The United States of America had sponsored our visa’s to the US when I was an infant, I was about eight months.

Because my family came from a refugee camp, they had no education and didn’t know how to speak the language. So my parents had to work under the table with low pay doing farm work to support me and my siblings. It was me, my older sister and my older brother. He was hit by a car and died at the age of ten.

Seeing the struggle that my family was going through made me feel like I had to do something so I took my chances in the streets and I got into selling drugs. We were based in the urban city of Philadelphia. I got caught and did some prison time and through ICE got deported.

I choose the streets because the streets kids in Cambodia remind me of when I was a kid in the streets trying to make ends meet by any means. It’s where no-one believes in you, where you have to hustle to get what you want and that’s where I grew to be the person I am today.

I can’t forget about the streets, can’t forget where I came from. I want to inspire the streets kids, tell them that they’re somebody, that they can also make dreams come true. #LifeAfterAmerica

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Home is: my cat James, British in Cambodia

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o fluffy kitties were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Mother cats will grab a kitten by the scruff of the neck to transport their young to wherever they are going.

The kitten goes limp instinctively, to this cat I am its mother.

One day I walked by the local Buddhist Wat and found a small kitten ambling her way out of a sack that had been casually discarded on the pavement. Initially I ignored it as my pragmatic nature instantly did not want to deal with what I saw.

Unfortunately for me and the empathetic sucker that I am, I had a momentary lack of self control and I returned to the kitten. She was there, crawling, meowing and in distress. Deciding to investigate further, I looked into this abandoned sack to find two other kittens along with their recently deceased mother.

In Cambodia, where life is cheap for people (presumably it is in the bargain basement for animals) there are not a lot of places for those that are not wanted. So, the only place to carelessly discard them is next to the Wat where presumably the Monks will take care of them.

So, I took these cats home and raised them myself to the point that I am their mother, hence the deference pictured here. It is one of the few things that gives me a sense of home in Phnom Penh.

On a side note, weetabix and milk too, they are gold dust in this part of the World. So, fluffy kitties, weetabix and milk.

Follow sin.ie for more on the ‘Home Is’ project.

FEATURES 11

March 30 2016

St Patrick’s Day, Galway-style: just in case you missed anything

By Niamh Cullen From Galway to New York and all around the world, those fond of the Irish went green with celebrations on that wonderful day, Thursday 17 March, which we all know fondly as Saint Patrick’s Day. Of course, Galway city is no stranger to parties and cultural festivities, and no doubt many of you Sin readers caught the action in all of its glory.

But naturally, you can’t be everywhere at once, so we’ve got all the news you need of the latest happenings, parade stories, and quirky events to provide you with a proper Paddy’s Day breakdown.

On the day in question, over 25,000 people took to Galway city to celebrate.

Warm-up performances by the World’s Strongest Man, in association with Duffy’s Circus, and local original music trio Rivers and Crows kept the pre-amble to the festivities’ beginnings well and truly alive at Eyre Square from 11.15.

Druid Theatre founding member Marie Mullen stood as the guest of honour for the city’s parade, which kicked off at 11.30, made its way through Fr Griffin Road, then through the city centre, before concluding at Eyre Square.

Master storytellers and performers Macnas showed up with their eye-catching costumes, life-sized puppets, and designs, while further announcements were made in the continued bid to push Galway to become the European Capital of Culture in 2020, the overall theme of this year’s parade.

As well as the parade’s topical theme, other highlights included the Galway Arts Centre, Colours Street Theatre, An Taibhdhearc Theatre, Foróige, The Russian Culture Club, and Amnesty International all representing the host of eclectic and bursting arts hub that constitutes Galway city, and ensures it is Ireland’s multicultural home.

Dance and music team Bugale An Oriant also took to the parade, coming all the way from Galway’s twin city Lorient in France.

Translated as “The Celtic Circle” in English, the team were established in 1981 with the intention to preserve the cultural heritage of Brittany.

Gamelan na Gaillimhe, or the “Gamelans of Galway”, signalled the end of the parade with their chiming of Indonesian gongs.

And if that wasn’t enough to ensure a packed-out Paddy’s Day, then there were also a variety of events, workshops, and shows that continued the festivities well into the afternoon and early evening.

Bádóirí an Cladaig Teo, or the Claddagh Boatmen, are known for preserving the maritime heritage of Galway through education and training in the many traditional practices associated with the Galway Hookers.

In addition to their participation in the parade, they hosted a 21 foot– high, handmade Galway Hooker, which was on display in Eyre Square throughout the day.

But the day wasn’t just a feast for the eyes. Have you always thought Saint Patrick drove those nasty snakes out of our fair green land?

Well perhaps you may never know: NUI Galway History Professor Dáibhi O Chrónín hosted a talk on the myths surrounding St Patrick in An Taibhdhearc at 2pm, just after the parade’s completion around.

Eyre Square Shopping Centre also staged a workshop unit for volunteers, local groups, families, the young and old, to enable all to get creative with both their entries for the parade and for a bit of fun following its completion.

Nova Bar’s G-2 went all out with an LGBT Saint Patrick’s Weekend event with DJs Fuzz, Betty Herring, Karo, and John Doherty all keeping the decks spinning from Thursday to Sunday, while Galway Bay Irish Pub in Ocean Shores held a night parade which started at 6pm.

The parade left from the north end of Ocean Shores and headed toward Ocean Shores Boulevard.

And Damien Dempsey sung to a packed but cosy crowd in Róisín Dubh late into the afternoon, while Kíla got everyone’s feet moving with jigs and reels aplenty in Monroe’s.

Elsewhere in Galway, most parades got underway between noon

and 1pm; these took place in Spiddal, Claregalway, Athenry, Glenamaddy, Headford, Portumna, Gort, Abbeyknockmoy, Dunmore, Loughrea, Clifden, Kinvara, and Oughterard.

Also, a number of towns’ celebrations, including those of Gort, Athenry, Tuam, and Ahascragh, were themed around the 1916 centenary celebrations.

And there were notable highlights for Galway’s smaller towns.

The MC-ing of Loughrea’s parade, provided from 2016 Grand Marshal, World Gold Medallist, and four-time Olympian Olive Loughnane was wellreceived by all in attendance.

Clifden’s call for people to choose their own theme reflected the notions of independence upheld by the motifs of 1916; Kinvara’s parade was led by around 60 horses, thanks to the Turkey Trotters local equestrian group; and Roundstone donated all proceeds from their variety of events to Cancer Care West.

Finally, perhaps most notably of all, Aughrim, which has a population of roughly 600 people, hosted its first parade at 4pm on Sunday 20 March.

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12 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

THE ROLE OF STUDENTS IN 1916 compared to the role of students today

By Kevin Donoghue, USI President Young people are at the forefront of change and progression in every society. On 23 May 2015 Ireland had affirmed to the world what it means to be a modern republic. Since the marriage referendum in Ireland, students have become aware that they can change the world through politics by becoming actively, meaningfully and substantially involved throughout political parties and beyond. Today’s youth engagement is not indifferent in politics – it is simply different to previous generations.

Today’s students don’t absorb the propaganda-influenced media. They see through the heavily-edited, scripted politicians. They reject injustice and inequality. A century ago, Ireland was going through a revolution and a unity achieved between socialism and nationalism in 1916 was being forged, while other political philosophies were endorsed and promoted, like feminism, by the likes of Maud Gonne and Countess Markievicz, and Cumann na mBan was born from it.

As well as the women’s rights movement, the youth movement was rapidly growing in Ireland. Fianna na hÉireann UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics

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was founded by Bulmer Hobson and Countess Markievicz to ensure the young Irish would be trained properly when they were old enough to fight for their country. What would Countess Markievicz say if she saw how far we’ve come in 100 years and how far we have yet to go?

The 1916 Easter Rising was a product of its time, conditions and beliefs. It did not come out of thin air. The United Irishmen Rebellion boiled over in 1798 but resulted in no revolution. The Robert Emmet uprising was crushed in 1803.

The Easter Rising was the first major revolution in Irish history which saw ordinary Irish people do extraordinary things in revolting against foreign exploitation, domination, oppression and abuse.

This revolution was led by the energy and determination of its youth. Kevin Barry was 18 when he took part in the Rising. Michael Collins was 25 in 1916. Eamonn Ceant was 34. Patrick Pearse was 36. The determination of the young made the rising a success.

Recent independent research by Thinkhouse showed that 83% of young people planned to vote in the General Election. By midday on 22 May more than 27,000 tweets had been sent with the hashtag #HomeToVote. Social media was flooded with statements and photos from Ireland’s far flung youth supporting same-same marriage, and getting planes, trains and automobiles to have their vote, and their voice, heard. The power and weight of the young vote was undeniable and written into Irish history when it reformed the justice system – now, same-sex marriage is legal.

We have come so far but we still have a long way to go.

The role of the youth in 1916 was primarily disruption. Today, their role is still disruption but a different kind – instead of focusing on freedom of country from foreign rule they are pursuing freedom from the chains of inequality.

This revolution was led by the energy and determination of its youth. Kevin Barry was 18 when he took part in the Rising. Michael Collins was 25 in 1916. Eamonn Ceant was 34. Patrick Pearse was 36. The determination of the young made the rising a success.

In 1916, anyone wanting to reach wide audiences needed to do so through the church or traditional media. Today, Ireland’s youth are more empowered through social and digital creation and consumption with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Snapchat.

They do not need a pulpit in a packed Cathedral to be heard nor do they need to be in a position of power where they’re talking to the masses through the pulpit of journalism. The rise of civil or guerrilla journalism through blogging, vlogging, Youtube and social media means anyone can voice their opinions and beliefs through an online platform.

The Irish youth have led the country in rejecting a government that has broken its promises in the accommodation, homelessness, and unemployment and education sectors.

The Union of Students in Ireland created the hashtag #MakeASmartVote before the General Election, which had over 3 million impressions by 26 February. In 1916 there was a political revolution. Today we’re experiencing a political earthquake.

FEATURES 13

March 30 2016

Paddy Duffy How did attending NUI Galway final year, threw myself into the ALIVE volundevelop you as a person?

I started college when I was 17, and I was teering programme and younger than that. Coming out of the generally revelled in the harsh environs of secondary school, it was whole society scene. a godsend to find a place so easy going, so Some of the best friends What is your fondest memory sanguine, so understanding. Galway gave I’ve ever met I saw first in me permission to be When people thea.m.

Socs Box. of NUI Galway?

Alumni_Dictionary_Page.pdf 1 myself.

27/11/2015 10:05 In one sense, my three years in Galway were find out I worked on ‘University Challenge’ one long, flowing fond memory. But if I had they’re always very interested to find out Do you ever miss to choose one it’d be tears of laughter trip- where I went myself. I’m always very proud NUI Galway? ping me and my panellists in the Flirt FM to say NUI Galway.

No. But only because I never feel that disstudio during a musical break and trying to get it together for the next link. That sums How did studying your course of tant from Galway and I always feel sure it up so much of my NUIG experience. That, study prepare you for your career? or the time a pile of people started singing To be honest, it didn’t especially. But I think won’t be long before I’m ‘Eternal Flame’ outside The Quays on St that’s the great virtue of an Arts degree, to back again. That said, Patrick’s Day. study something you enjoy, not necessar- nowhere in Central Lonily because it’s vocationally relevant. To my don does a sandwich Has NUI Galway changed mind the whole point of a University edu- like Ward’s so around cation is to try things out and find things ­lunchtime I can get pretty since you were here?

Alumni_Dictionary_Page.pdf 1 27/11/2015 10:05 a.m.

A few things look a bit snazzier (Flirt FM out, about yourself most of all. You have the wistful... looks sensational nowadays) and the rest of your working career to learn how to country-and-western burlesque that is do a job.

What advice would you give to Donegal Tuesday didn’t exist in my time. current NUI Galway students?

But Benny Foy is still pulling pints in the Did you partake in any societies, sports You’re living in a gift of a place. Take it out College Bar and the Chernobyl-esque clubs or volunteering at NUI Galway? of the box and have a play.

Concourse still stands, so the fundamen- God yeah! I basically lived in Flirt FM for tals are still strong. my three years, ran the Quiz Society in my If you could go back and do it all again,

YEAR OF GRADUATION: 2006 COURSE AT NUI GALWAY: Arts (History and English) CURRENT OCCUPATION: Author, broadcaster and television producer

Conas atá tú?

By ­Feidhlim Seoighe

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Using the little bit of Irish we all learned in school is very important. You might not be fully fluent, or confident in using whatever Irish you have, but it is important to understand that you are not alone, and that college is a great time to start using, and improving your Irish. Especially this week, as the 1916 commemorations are taking place, and it is important to understand the significance that the cultural revival played in those events.

A lot is said about the Irish Language, but not enough about its revival among college students across the country.

There is a Cumann Gaelach in every college. And in many cases, these are among the most active societies on campus.

The USI work with Irish societies across the country organise events such as Oíche na Mac Léinn (Student Night) in Club Chonradh na Gaeilge, on Dominic Street, every Dé Máirt. It is a great chance to practice your cúpla focal in an

what would you do differently?

I wouldn’t change a stroke: NUI Galway was a perfect experience for me at a perfect time for me. And anyway, if there’s one thing Galway taught me is that there’s no rush.

There’ll be plenty more fun to be had tomorrow.

Grandfather led his wife to the altar when he happier man since he got married. Their was only 22 years old. situation is altogether different from ours. / adj not selfish. alter / / verb to become or make altruistic / Synonym unselfish .

Antonym something Synonym change informal environment, a chance todifferent. meet Grandfather led his wife to the altar when he happier man since he got married. selfish Their was only 22 years old. situation is altogether different from some new friends, and maybe (NOTE : Dofind not the confuse with altar.) aluminium / / ours. noun a sil/ adj not selfish. alter / / verb to become or make altruistic / buachaill/cáilín of youralteration dreams. extremely light / (ə)n / noun act ver-coloured unselfishwhich . Antonymis selfish something different.anSynonym change Synonymmetal ( NOTE : Do not confuse with altar.) aluminium / noun a silIf you want to improve your Irish, different take (NOTE: The US spelling is/ aluminum.) of becoming or alteration of making some/ (ə)n / noun an act ver-coloured metal which is extremely light part in trips to the annual thing Oireachtas different. (a Synonymof becoming change, modifialumnus / isnoun US a male stualuminum.) different or of making some- (NOTE/: The US spelling thing different. Synonym change, modifi- alumnus / / nouna US a male stu- or colmassive Irish language festival, with cation dent who used to attend university cation dent who used to attend a university or col10,000 attendees and 700 students), or high school. Synonym graduate high school.

Synonym graduate altercation / (ə)n / nounlege a verbal orlege altercation / (ə)n / noun a verbal (NOTE: The plural is alumni / /.) disagreement. Synonym argument which takes place every October;Synonym go ( NOTE : The plural is alumni / disagreement. argument alternate adj / / every other one ALUMNI / əˈlʌmnʌɪ / noun US (plural). A /.) to céilís, and most of all, if you want to / / to keep changing from one former/ pupil verb or student of a particular alternate / every other one adj / ALUMNI əˈlʌmnʌɪ / noun USschool, (plural). A have a bit of craic, then joining your own particular position or state to another college, or university: a NUI Galway alumnus. / / to keep changing from one verb student of aofparticular alternately / / adv withformer one first pupil Irish societies is a must. They also organWelcomeor back to the alumni the Class of school, andtothen the other. Antonym consecutively particular position or state another 1995.

Origin: Mid 17th century: from Latin,alumnus. ise Ranganna Gaeilge (Irish Classes) alternating current / college, or university: a NUI Galway / adv/ with one firstcurrentWelcome electric which ‘nursling, pupil’, from alere ‘nourish’. noun an throughout the year.alternately / back to the /alumni of the Class of changes direction all the time, as opposed to always / adv 1. every time then the other. consecutively One of the easiest and things that you can Antonym direct current which flows in one direction. She is always late for work. Why does it al1995. Origin: Mid 17th century: from Latin, Abbr AC. Compare direct current / ways rain when we want to go for a walk? 2. do to support Irish isalternating to start using your current alternative / / adj 1.‘nursling, in place all the time It’s always hot ‘nourish’. in tropical pupil’, from alere / noun current name “as Gaeilge” on Facebook, andan electric of something else which If the plane is full, we countries. 3. frequently, especially when will put you on an alternative flight.

2. folchanges someone always time Twitter, and to look for servicesdirection from the all the time, as opposed to always / finds it annoying / adv She’s 1. every lowing a different way from usual noun asking me to lend her money. directancurrent which flows in one Government, for example Irish Passsomething whichdirection. takes the place of someShe is always late disease for work.

Why does it alAlzheimer’s / thing else Now that she’s got measles, do Abbr . Compare current / noun a disease of the brain that leads to port (Pás or your name in AC Irish on your direct when we want to go for a walk?

2. we have any alternative to calling theways holidayrain memory loss that gets worse and worse Driving Licence (Ceadúnas Tiomána) off? /there no in alternative is nothalternative / place thereall adjis1. the time It’s am / / bealways hot in tropical ing else we can do in Irish. / adv before midday I have of something else If the plane is energy full, we / countries.a.m.3./ frequently, especially when alternative to catch the 7 a.m. train to work every day.

An Ghaeilge is one of only 6,500 lanenergy2.produced the sun, Telephone will put you on an alternative/ noun flight. fol- bysomeone calls made before 6 a.m. are always finds it annoying She’s the sea or the wind guages in the world,lowing and it is only way from charged at the cheap rate. (NOTE: a.m. is a the different usual noun asking me to lend her money. alternatively / / adv on the usually used to show the exact hour and the language that we can say is ours.

It is takes It’s rather straight NUI Galway has dedicated other hand something which the place of some-forward… word o’clock is left out.

Thea/US spelling is disease alternative medicine / Alzheimer’s a living language, and it can be a great A.M.) when you graduate you join the Alumni Relations team who work to thing else Now that she’s ( got doof diseases by/ noun )s n/ measles, noun the treating a disease of the brain that leads to amalgam / / a mixture, esnoun tool in the search forwe a career and alternative when means such as herbal medicineswhich which has are peciallymake alumni family sure never have any toextended calling the holiday the used by dentists fill their memory loss thatmixture getsalumni worse and tolose worse not usually used by doctors traveling (within, or off? outsidethere Ireland).

It holes in teeth 9,000 members alma matter over connection with their is no alternative there is nothalternator / / noun a device am / amalgamate / / be / verb to comis something that willing surprise youcan when which produces alternating current else we do bine together. Synonym merge a.m. / / adv I have although / / conj in spite of the amalgamation you realise how much of it you actually / before midday ( )n / noun alternative energy / Although it was freezing, Stay fact that Connected she the act 7 of combining together to catch the a.m. train to work every day. have. didn’tAlumni put a coat on. been into / noun energy produced by the I’ve sun, Like Relations onnever Facebook by searching amass / ‘NUI/ Galway collect a lot of verb to Alumni’ that shop although I’ve often walkedTelephone past it. made before 6 a.m. are For more information about Seachtain money,calls information things.

Synonym and find us on LinkedIn. Email alumni@nuigalway.ie or callor091-494310 the sea or the wind altimeter / / noun an instrument accumulate charged at the cheap rate. ( NOTE : a.m. is na Gaeilge,see www.snag.ie, and for the for measuring height above sea level amateur / / noun 1. a alternatively / / adv on/ noun the height usually usedwho toisshow the exact hour altitude / above person USI 1916 clár of events, see gaeilge.usi.ie. not paid to play his or her sport and the sea level other hand 2. a personis who doesout. something he word o’clock left Thebecause US spelling is C

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14 FEATURES

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Don’t be held back by the demons of doubt

By John Mulry I doubt myself: every single day.

There, I said it. Even though I’m a bona fide, marketing Maverick that can absolutely transform businesses and lives, I doubt myself and I think it’s killing me.

Or at least I thought I did. I’m my own worst critic. There’s an internal dialogue or battle going on in my head constantly – questioning everything I do, questioning what I’ve done.

Things like my books The Truth and Your Elephant’s Under Threat, which, although have received worldwide recognition and have already helped countless businesses and people, I doubt myself for writing them and for selling them.

I doubt whether they are any good.

I doubt whether people should buy them. And I doubt whether anyone will read this. I doubt whether anyone will enjoy it. I also doubt my other products and services. I doubt my referral system. I doubt my lost cus-

tomer reactivation system. I doubt my online business launch system. I doubt my new local business software system.

I doubt my ‘done with you’ and ‘done for you’ programs.

As fantastic as all those things are, I on occasion doubt any and all of them because of the battle inside my head. I doubt, I question, I second guess, I over analyse and I fall into a cycle of hatred and loneliness.

At this time of writing I’m going through hell and back personally which makes me doubt absolutely everything even more. I mean, if it’s all this hard, what’s the point? Why go on? Why bother, right? Well, there is a point and there is always reason to go on: always.

All the while I’m doubting myself and everything I do to help you succeed; all I think of are the demons of doubt who are choking me, squeezing every bit of optimism and hope out me waiting for me to crumble. All of this is going on and I feel alone – like I’m the only one who’s like this, feeling like

a fraud, a failure, a nobody, being hit with a bombshell that crushes you and breaks even the strongest of wills.

But then something happens – maybe not immediately, but it happens. And it can from nowhere, come from someone or something that you had all along. For me it was a couple of well written words from a book that changed everything.

“Start asking the right questions not the wrong ones. Instead of ‘Why can’t I?’, ask ‘How can I?’” So I did. And I am. And the doubt is fading. Not gone, but fading. And I understand now. Doubt is part of the journey. Without doubt, there’s no progress. Doubt means we’re heading into the discomfort zone, which is where the success comes. Not the comfort zone: that’s where mediocrity lives.

Forget mediocrity.

Without doubt – however ugly and uncomfortable it is – there would be no winning. Everybody doubts themselves and it took a great book for me to understand that.

645 SU Nuig Writing Comp copy.pdf

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If you’re doubting what you’re doing, the direction you’re going, the validity of your business, whether you’re good enough, whether you’re worthy, whether you deserve it – I want you to know that you’re not alone.

I’m beside you, doubting too. But I’m not giving up. And neither should you. I am a doubter. But I’m also a fighter and I’m fighting. I’m also a winner and I’m winning. And those who get in my way better watch out because I’m coming for you. I’m doubting, but I’m fighting for what I want, to fulfil my mission of seeing just how much of my potential I can achieve; to push myself to my limit; to see how far I can go and to help others go far too.

Best of all, I’m barely in first gear at the minute. I’m just lifting my foot off the clutch. There’s a long way to go. And there’ll be more doubts: with more success come more challenges.

So I’m a doubter and you probably are too. That’s ok, because we’re not alone.

The best of the best all doubt themselves every day, and the ones who 11/03/2016

say they don’t are liars and the biggest doubters of them all, but they fight too.

As clichéd as it is, and it’s been said a millions times before: it isn’t about getting hit, it’s about getting up when you get hit.

I’ve been knocked out, but I’m awake now and I’m fighting back and I’ll win. You should too. Keep striving. Keep doubting. But keep fighting.

If you want to achieve something exceptional, “normal” just doesn’t cut it. Don’t be normal.

Remember to ask yourself the right questions, not wrong ones. Next time you’re doubting ask yourself: What can I learn from this, which will make me stronger?

What can I do differently next time?

How can I improve?

Can this experience help me refine my game plan, or help me identify skills that I need to work on?

Thank you for reading. If you’re a doubter or you know someone who doubts themselves please share this.

Thank you!

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NUI Galway Alumni Association Writing Competition 2016 €1,000 prize fund & the winner will also be published in Cois Coiribe & Sin Newspaper

Essay Title: University College Galway and the 1916 Rising In conjunction with Sin Newspaper, NUI Galway Students’ Union, Galway University Foundation and the NUI Galway College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies.

For more information please contact studentsunion@nuigalway.ie Terms & Conditions Apply

LIFESTYLE 15

March 30 2016

When how many ‘likes’ begins to matter too much

By Jessica Hannon Social media, where would we be without it? In an alien world, for most 20-year-olds today...

There are many, many wonderful advantages to having social media in our lives: work is made easier, time moves faster and friends can be contacted in a matter of seconds. But what happens when social media becomes an addictive pill and we can’t put our digital devices down?

With social media in its many forms, Facebook and Twitter profiles, Instagram pages and Tinder, it has become so important to receive validation from friends, acquaintances and strangers 24/7.

It has become an essential aspect of life that when we post something to our Facebook profile or a photo on our Instagram account, we expect a reasonable amount of likes, be that 20, 40 or 100 likes.

In essence that’s 100 people telling you they love your new photo or they agree with your opinion or they approve of your new relationship. It’s imperative for you as an individual who has grown up in the age of social media to feel wanted, appreciated and liked by all 800-1000 of your Facebook friends, isn’t it?

When you break it down though, you’re changing your profile picture because you want to and you like your new photo but what happens when some people don’t like your new photo? Or they do, but they just didn’t physically Facebook ‘like’ it.

Does that mean they like it less?

Go one step further, do they like you less? You rack your brain trying to reason why that person didn’t like your photo or why this month you fell 20 likes shorter than the likes you received last month. It’s absolutely crazy and incredibly unhealthy.

People in the 21st century are putting themselves under serious pressure to radiate the right message to their friends and people their own age. We want everyone to think that we are living perfect lives and that we have wonderful social lives and make new friends every weekend – because the amount of selfies you take with one person is an accurate measure of how close the two of you are, right?

And the amount of photos you have in your ‘Summer Album’ is representative of the amount of fun you had over the course of the holiday, right? Because Facebook definitely conveys the most true and accurate vision of what’s going on in your life and who you are as a person, right? And in that case, why bother actually getting to know someone if you can tell exactly who this person is by their Facebook profile?

Just look at the breakup situation. So you and your significant other have called it quits and, undeniably, it’s for the best.

Everything’s going grand until you see him/her tagged in someone else’s photo on social media.

Have they moved on before you? Who is this new person and did they break up with you because you perceive this other person to be more attractive than you? Next thing you know you’re back where you started and it’s all to do with one Facebook photo.

Wouldn’t it have been so much easier if you hadn’t seen it or put so much emphasis on the meaning behind the photo because social media has told you that it must mean something?

It all sounds highly ridiculous when you put it all down in words like this. Is it any wonder men and women have issues and suffer feelings of inadequacy when all social media seems to do at times is tell you that you’re not good enough? And I say sometimes because hurray for the days you do get 100+ likes on your Instagram photo because that’s the day you’ll finally feel like you’re good enough.

But don’t get me wrong here, Facebook and other media platforms are good. They have many benefits. Mobile phones allow you to feel safe when you’re out and if you get into trouble, all you have to do is call someone. Social media, if used correctly and in moderation is a wonderful tool in getting your voice out there and giving your opinion on important issues.

But personally I don’t see the positive benefits of getting hung up on ‘likes’. At the end of the day if you feel content within yourself and you’re happy with the friends you have around you, then why should getting likes matter?

However, realistically, no matter how strong of a person you are, receiving likes will always make you feel good and, likewise, not receiving any will undeniably make you feel slightly bad about yourself even if for just a few minutes.

So perhaps it’s high time we put down our phones for a while, we close our Instagram application and log off Facebook.

Perhaps then we’ll really get to know the people we call our Facebook friends and maybe, just maybe we’ll all feel more confident in ourselves and our appearances when we’re not hanging onto that last ‘like’.

This time, maybe we’ll actually enjoy the night out instead of desperately trying to make it look like we’re having a better time than we actually believe we are. Maybe we’ll actually begin to live in the moment: that thing we’ve been trying to do all this time but somehow were unable to do while scrolling.

How to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during exams

By Dee Leonard Exam season is fast approaching and we have enough to worry about without adding tired, puffy eyes to the mix. If you’re someone who’ll be pulling all nighters or choosing energy drinks over sleep for the next few weeks, read on for some tips on how to keep those puffy eyes at bay.

TEA BAGS: You can just brew yourself up some

tea when studying and keep the bags aside to use on your eyes later. Caffeine in the tea bags constrict the blood vessels around your eyes, tightening the skin and reducing puffiness. Chamomile tea would be great for this as it has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties that will help reduce redness and puffiness. Leave them on the eyes for 15 -30 minutes while you have a power nap and you’ll be good to go when you wake up.

CUCUMBERS: It’s been said that cucumber has

anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce swelling in the eyes. Just keep the cucumber in your fridge and put two slices over your eyes and leave on for about 20 minutes. Cucumbers are mostly made of water so it’ll be like having two small ice packs over your eyes and should help reduce puffiness a lot.

ROLL ON EYE CREAM: There’s no need to break

the bank on fancy eye creams if you only get puffy eyes around exam time. Something like the Simple Kind To Eyes Revitalising Eye Roll-On, which is currently €4.99 in Boots, is perfect for those tired days. The metal roller ball is cooling, decreases puffiness and feel like a real treat for tired eyes. For an extra cooling

Death by chocolate WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE LEFTOVER EASTER EGGS

boost, store this in the fridge the night before an exam and just swipe it under your eyes in the morning time.

AVOID THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE: If you’re star-

ing a screen for hours on end, your eyes can dry out and become tired. Try to look at something else for a minute or two every half hour or so or avoid looking at your phone too much on a study break. Keep drinking water when you’re studying as dehydration can be a huge factor in red or puffy eyes. If you’re snacking, avoid eating too many salty things as sodium retention can cause this as well. Most importantly, get some sleep! It’s always tempting to pull an allnighter for big exams, but break up your study with quick 20 minute naps and try to get some sleep if you can; it’ll help your concentration levels massively the next day.

COVER THEM UP: If you don’t want to head into

your exam looking like you’ve never had a day’s sleep in your life, a nice brightening concealer can do the trick. If you find the right shade that matches your skin tone, you can just use this instead of foundation. If you have time for a bit of Kim K style highlighting, just throw on a concealer that’s a shade or two lighter than your foundation in a triangle shape under your eyes and blend, it’ll instantly lift the face and brighten the under eye area.

If you’re doing a fuller face of makeup, keep the eyes neutral and light as darker eyeshadows will only make your eyes look more tired. Avoid black eyeliners that can make the eyes look smaller and tired and if you want to neautralise the redness in your eye, use a flesh toned or white eyeliner in the waterline to open up the eyes and make them appear rounder and more awake. add a scoop of instant coffee for a homemade mocha. Pour into your favourite mug, add marshmallows and relax.

CUPCAKE TOPPING: Whip up a batch of buns or

By Sorcha O’Connor Ah, Easter: an even greater time for chocoholics than Christmas. But what to do when you’ve been gifted one egg too many or if you somehow become bored of munching plain, old egg-shaped chocolate? Melt them and make something new seems to be the answer. Try the recipes below to make your extra Easter eggs that bit yummier.

CHOCOLATE SQUARES: You will need a Mars

Bar Easter egg, the Mars Bars that come in the box, 400g Rice Krispies and 400g melted butter.

Melt the Easter egg down and then melt the Mars Bars. Mix the melted bars with the Rice Krispies and the melted butter. Pat into a dish and then pour the chocolate on top.

Store in the fridge for a few hours – if you have the will power! When the mix is firm, cut into squares, pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy.

muffins and while they cool, melt your egg. Spoon a helping of chocolate onto the buns and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands, topping it off with a smartie or jelly tot. Simple but effective.

EASTER EGG NESTS: Grab a cereal of choice, mix

with some melted Easter egg chocolate and put into bun cases. Make a small hallow in the middle of the cereal mix and put in three Mini Eggs (which come with the Easter egg). These are great to make with younger siblings!

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE: Grease and line a

cake tin. Smash up some digestives and line the bottom of the tin with the biscuits. Melt your chocolate and mix with cream cheese, eggs and vanilla extract. Smooth this over the biscuit base and put in the oven for thirty minutes (start at 180 degrees but turn down the oven to about 120 after 15 minutes). Leave to cool for a bit before tucking in!

LUXURIOUS HOT CHOCOLATE: Melt down the

egg, add into a saucepan of milk, add a sprinkle of sugar, salt and cocoa powder and whisk it all up. If you’re looking for an extra hit of caffeine,

BROWNIES: Use any brownie recipe you know

but use your melted Easter eggs instead of cocoa powder or melting regular bars of chocolate.

16 LIFESTYLE

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

Summer checklist

By Sorcha O’Connor Once you fold up that last exam script, summer officially starts. You go out one last time in Galway before heading home for a bit of R and R after the post-exam celebrations. You then have four glorious months to do as you please (although probably in between your shifts in a local café!).

Maybe you’ll jet off on holidays for a bit of sun or inter-railing across the continent. Perhaps you’ll be hitting up the many festivals Irish summers have to offer. Or even as one of the lucky few, you will be heading to the States for three months on a J1 visa.

Whatever you end up doing this summer, here is a checklist of all the necessities you will be thankful to have in your possession whether you’re dancing your socks off in Marlay Park or taking in the beauty of Lake Bled.

SUN CREAM: So you may call me Captain Obvi-

ous but the importance of a good sun cream cannot be exaggerated so yes, it is number one on the list.

You may think that even if it is a muggy, cloudy day at Longtitude, there is no harm in leaving the sun cream at home. Unfortunately, you’re wrong.

First of all the Irish weather is so unpredictable you can certainly have a wet, miserable morning burst into a scorcher at any given time and your skin won’t thank you when it’s completely unprotected when that happens.

Secondly, it is the sun’s UV rays that are the enemy and they creep through even a cloudy sky.

Therefore it’s always a good idea to slap on a bit of sun cream in the morning no matter the weather.

And then of course if you’re abroad your lovely Irish complexion goes from lovely to lobster pretty quickly without a bit of factor 50 on there. It can be greasy, inconvenient and a bit messy – but in the long run you won’t regret it.

SUN GLASSES: Sticking to the theme of sunshine,

sun glasses are another must-have. Investing in a pair that has UV protection is the way to go so always check the stickers on the lenses for this to make sure they’re not just a fashion statement.

Your eyes will be protected from any harsh sunlight and you will look fabulous all the while.

Bring a cheaper pair to festivals here in Ireland (imagine the devastation of losing Ray Bans at Electric Picnic…). You can hide the bags under your eyes and look effortlessly cool too!

CARMEX: This is a unisex lip product that is

insanely good for cracked lips. Sunny weather, wind or simply partying too hard can dry out your lips and this is a Godsend when that happens. And best of all, you can pick a tube up in Penney’s on the cheap (sure, where would you be going without it?)

CAMERA: Maybe you’ll use your iPhone or per-

haps you’ll do a Monica and Chandler and use a disposable one, but whatever you do make sure to bring a camera to get a few snaps of you and your friends having the time of your lives wherever you go this summer.

I know everyone gives out that people are living their lives looking through a camera lens these days but there is no harm in taking a few spontaneous photos while you’re making mem-

ories – you’ll be able to look back in fondness of days gone by when you’re stuck in an office all summer in the future (ew, adulthood).

Even if you and your friends are out the back having a barbecue, those are the kind of things you’ll cherish in a few years time.

10 things to do over the summer holidays

By Ryan Mc Guinness

DRY SHAMPOO: This one is for the gals. All hail Batiste! Look, it gives you a bit of dandruff after too many uses but when you’re on a campsite, dry shampoo can be your best friend. Greasy hair, be gone! Spray in a bit, tousle it with your fingers and scrap it back into French plaits – et voilà, festival ready once more. I’ve started using the brown one for my hair to avoid any dodgy white patches and would definitely recommend it.

The summer holidays are a glorious time.

The weather is good, people are happier and you don’t have to sit in lecture halls all day twiddling your thumbs.

The first week of summer serves as respite from the exams, but going into the second, you may already feel bored, especially if you’re from the countryside (like me).

Here are 10 things to do over the summer to alleviate the monotony.

TRAVEL SIZE PRODUCTS: Handy for getting

EXERCISE: If you’ve been contemplating

through security at the airport but also brilliant to have in your bag while you explore the cities of Europe too. It tends to be a lot hotter in other countries than Ireland and so chances are you’ll be sweating a bit more than usual. It’s great to have a small spritz of something in your bag to freshen up instead of lugging round a full can of Lynx or Sure.

Also using public transport or simply not having a sink to wash your hands can leave them germy so buy a small bottle of sanitizer and a pack of wipes to get rid of those cooties.

getting in shape, now’s the time. Luckily enough there’s an abundance of sports being played over the summer and they’re usually free, so get involved. If sports aren’t your thing, join a gym. Gym memberships have been known to go down in price during the summer because many people prefer to exercise outdoors when the weather is nice.

CONDOMS: Better safe than sorry.

A WALLET: Get yourself a decent wallet that will

keep all your money and ID cards safe and accessible for you. There’s no point having one that’s falling apart and stuffed with old receipts (I’m a culprit of this at the best of times). You’ll end up losing/not being able to see your change that could’ve gotten you a bus home. Trust me, I know.

COMFORTABLE SHOES: Whether it’s a solid pair

of runners or boots try and purchase practical shoes for the occasion. For festivals, I would try mimic Laura Whitmore and wear a pair of leather boots that will look fashionable but are also sturdy and comfortable. Runners for when you are site seeing on holidays are essential – flip- flops are for the beach and the beach only.

PLASTERS: You never know when you could get

a boo-boo and no one will be there to kiss it better. Give it a once over with a wipe and put on a plaster to keep the dirt out.

TRAVEL: Last year I did practically nothing

over the summer which I seriously regretted as I trudged back to college. Go somewhere this summer or save up for next year if you don’t have the money. There’s a whole world of places and people to see.

WORK: If you want or need money you’ll

probably have to get a job. It’ll keep you busy, introduce you to new people and develop your skills within a workplace environment. If you like music, apply to be a festival worker. Apprenticeships or placements are also a good idea as you can figure out what you wish to do after college.

LEARN A NEW SKILL: It’s pretty daunting

starting to learn something new, and even when you start, it could take weeks to become even mediocre at it. Nevertheless, if there’s something you’ve always wanted to learn, now is your chance. It could be a new sport, learning to play a musical instrument… This summer could be the perfect time to master such a thing.

COOK: At the start of first year I taught

myself how to cook – more out of necessity rather than wanting to do it as the constant fast-food was getting to be a tad unhealthy. Even so I’m glad I did because it’s a skill I can use for the rest of my life.

If you’ve got spare time over the summer, I’d recommend learning some basic culinary skills.

DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU: Find

something you’ve always been scared of doing and just go for it. Every time your heart starts to beat out of your chest from fear, being uncomfortable, or getting stuck in a new place where nothing is familiar, it’s a great reminder that you’re alive. Conquer your fears.

GO TO A FESTIVAL: For instance, I was plan-

ning to go to Tomorrowland in Belgium but sadly it sold out. I’ll just have to choose from the other 40+ festivals throughout Europe.

The summer is festival central. Find your favourite band, see where they are touring, and go enjoy some great music. If not music then there are a number of food festivals taking place around the country that might appeal to you.

WATCH MOVIES: There’s an infinite amount

of movies out there. Many are pretty terrible but some are pieces of art. If you’ve never seen The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for instance, I’d highly recommend you do.

You also can’t beat the novelty of going to the cinema. The whole experience of eating popcorn, slurping down coke and sitting in the dark watching a movie is a novelty I always enjoy.

READ: Self-explanatory really. It relieves stress and provides mental stimulation, which are all good things. Try reading a minimum of three books over the summer.

RELAX: Sometimes doing nothing is best.

Spend some days relaxing in the comfort of your own home. Sleep all day if you like.

After all, it is your summer vacation.

ENTERTAINMENT 17

March 30 2016

STRICTLY COME DANSOC 2016: “Oh what a night…” The second annual Intervarsity

By Georgia Feeney Each of the DanSoc members DanSoc decided to collaborate Poetry Slam: An experience Over the course of this academic year, the NUI Galway dance society has organised a wide range of events to get students to let loose and have fun.

Zumba, jazz, hip hop, and ballet were just some of the classes the society provided, for both beginners and advanced dancers.

But nothing could have prepared us for their final bash, Strictly Come DanSoc, which they coordinated and staged alongside the NUI Galway style society.

This was a first-time collaboration for both StyleSoc and DanSoc, and Caoimhe Prior, who guest-judged each performance, representing StyleSoc on the judging panel, was proud to have been part of the event: “When DanSoc approached StyleSoc about getting involved for their Strictly Come Dancing event, we jumped at the chance.

“StyleSoc had never worked with DanSoc before. DanSoc is a great society that holds great events so I knew this event would be no different. We were enticed by the fact that it was a student-based event. It was also a lovely gesture that all proceeds would be donated to charity.

“We knew it was something we had to get involved in. The event fitted everyone’s interests so we had trouble keeping the numbers down from [so many] members’ involvement!

“The entire event was fantastic. The atmosphere was buzzing between the stage, outfits and judges, it all came together perfectly. All the dancers were fantastic.

“The end of the night was bittersweet. It was also very rewarding to see such a huge amount raised for charities. I’m thankful that we got the opportunity to work with DanceSoc and encourage every society to.”

Each couple had a uniquely choreographed performance, wowing the audience one after the other. And when the night finally ended, the public were left wanting more and more.

Though they couldn’t all win, the couples certainly put on a great show. It was clear from the smooth running of the night, and an audience who left more than pleased, that this event was a huge success.

Strictly Come DanSoc coincided with DanSoc ’s tenth birthday, making this even more of a celebration; it took place on 9 March in the Bailey Allen Hall with the afters in Carbon nightclub.

was paired with a college celebrity, keeping with the same organisation as that of the popular ITV show the event was named for.

The following were the competing couples: SU officer Rebecca Melvin and Jonathan Carton; newly elected science convenor Christopher McBrearty and Lauren Wynne; DramaSoc member Deirdre Ní Chloscaí and Ricky Jinks; Socs Box officer David McEnroe and Charlotte Moore; College Bar promo staff member Noelle McNamara and Shane Mullarkey; and star of GUMS’ The Addams Family Cathal Ryan and Emer Hogan.

And the competition was stoked even further by its inclusion of a wildcard couple, Nikk Dunne from Dance UL society and his partner Martha Brennan.

Each pair danced in aid of their chosen charity: Make a Wish Ireland, dog rescue charity Madra, Jigsaw Galway, the Galway Rape Crisis Centre, and the Irish Cancer Society. And though the overall prize of €500 could only be given to one charity on the night, donations were also made to each of the charities chosen by the participating couples.

Throughout the evening, the dancers’ nerves could be sensed by the audience as they prepared to perform and, hopefully, win the prize of €500 for their chosen charity. However, each couple need not have worried as the audience were thoroughly entertained throughout the evening regardless of how well they moved.

MC for the night was Jess Wright, and she proved to be very popular with the audience, who spent the night laughing at her light-hearted comedic commentary.

On a slightly more serious note, four judges provided the necessary criticism: Jay Molyneux of JM Dance Company; Genevieve Ryan of the Genevieve Ryan School of Dance; Societies Officer Ríóna Hughes; and StyleSoc auditor Caoimhe Prior.

And the judges were impressed not only by the performances but their level of choreography too, with Molyneux even admitting that he would love to work with one of the dancers, Charlotte, who choreographed her dance with David.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pair went on to win the prize money after their performance left both the audience and judging panel amazed.

Meanwhile, the level of style on the night reached Milan fashion levels as each couple dressed to impress.

with StyleSoc, who sourced the clothes and dressed the dancers for the event, while local business Public Romance linked up with the Style girls to loan costumes to a number of the dancers.

“Most stylish couple” was awarded to Noelle and Shane, who were styled by medical student Caoimhe Curran, the couple staging a swanky 1920s show dancing to a jazzy number while dressed in a sequin dress, feathers bowler hats, and braces.

Continuing the motif of charitable support, one couple also approached the Cope Galway store to attain their outfits for the event; and, based on what Cathal and his partner Emer wore, the shop offers significant potential for students who want to dress to impress and help those less fortunate at the same time.

Reflecting on the event, DanSoc Events Manager Shannon Keane was very proud of the society’s achievement: “The night was a success in itself, but let’s not forget the many long days and late nights when each couple rehearsed in order to perfect their routines.

“Not only did each couple have to rehearse, they also had to meet up with their stylist as well as take part in a photo-shoot with the lovely Miguel Maza [who was also present on the night to take photographs of both the attendees and the couples in action].

“The effort of all the celebrities and professionals put in was just astonishing and the DanSoc committee would like to thank everyone that made the show what it was.”

Supporting the society on the night was their founder Paul Killoran, who was presented with a plaque for his involvement.

And, of course, the night couldn’t end without wishing DanSoc a happy birthday.

After all of the couples had performed, the birthday cake was cut to mark the special occasion before the announcement of the competition’s winners: third place – Nikk Dunne and Martha Brennan; second place – Deirdre Ní Chloscaí and Ricky Jinks; and, first place – David McEnroe and Charlotte Moore.

For all those who love to dance and look their best while doing so, the semester is nearly over but there is always next year; check out both DanSoc and StyleSoc’s Facebook pages to stay updated on their work and think about getting involved with these ­societies.

By Cathy Lee On 9 March, the national Intervarsity Poetry Slam was held in NCAD and catered for young poets of all varieties.

The event was the second of its kind, started up last year by previous IADT student Lewis Kenny.

Lewis was on the panel this year as one of the three judges alongside representatives from Poetry Ireland, who were in full support of this event.

Lewis got in contact with the NUI Galway Writers’ Society and attended their Convention event back in late January. Here he engaged with the society committee and a heat for this Intervarsity Slam was held.

From that heat, Niamh Murphy, a first year Medicine student and I were lucky enough to be chosen by the judges to represent our college in Dublin.

Performance poetry as an artform has really progressed over the last few years as it engages more with the younger rebellious scene who want their voices heard. This type of performance provides a platform for this form of self-expression.

This could certainly be seen on the day at the Intervarsity.

The variety of poems on the day ranged from issues around mental health, relationships, youth, family issues, and politics. Although there were a few outliers whom went for the abstract and creative works.

The colleges involved on the day were TCD, UCD, NUIM, DCU, The National College of Surgeons, IADT, NUIG, and, of course, the host college NCAD. Each college had two students to represent them and there were two rounds with a poetry-filled interval.

The judges marked 50% on performance and 50% on content, all poems being under three minutes in length, with penalties occurring for those over the mark. The final round had students narrowed down to four finalists but of course there could only be one winner.

IADT’s English, Media, and Cultural Studies student Niall Donnelly won with his powerful performance, which I can safely was leaps and bounds above the rest. He really focused on the performance element and stood out for not using the microphone and also faking a faint at the end of his performance to mark its end.

He was lucky enough to take home the highly anticipated trophy, designed by an NCAD student, a spinning poetry book made into a placard. Niall performed a total

of three poems on the night and showed us his wide variety of topics from casual sexual encounters to the importance of true friendship.

Runners up were last year’s winner Dee Campbell from NUIM, last year’s runner-up from UCD Raneem Saleh, and first-time slam poet Laura Jabbour from the National College of Surgeons.

Their poems also varied ranging from the issues facing youth today and mental health, while Raneem focused on experiencing racism concerning her Muslim background and the mass media.

From speaking to audience members who had travelled from Galway to the event, they said they were left with lasting impressions of what slam poetry can do as an art form. Also, they were impressed with the variety of content, techniques and styles.

Ruth Sweeney, Vice-Auditor of NUI Galway Writers’ Society who attended the event, said it was “encouraging and exciting. It’d make you think that we could do an event similar ourselves here in Galway.”

I, too, think that’s the way forward as this was NUI Galway’s first time competing.

Lewis Kenny, key organiser, said of the event that he was “heavily impressed with everyone supporting” and that “it made the seven months of planning worth every minute”.

The host MC on the night, Dublin street poet Stephen Clare, remarked during the event that he was astonished at how diverse an event it was.

He pointed out that the majority of poets performing were female, the performers were multi-racial, some were from the LGBT community and some were transgender.

This event felt it like it was open to absolutely everybody and everyone involved was constantly supportive towards the performers.

I know that, even during my performance the audience, well over 100 people listened attentively and gave their support constantly. One poet stumbled over his words and another completely blanked on part of his poem, but he was still given the time he needed; and the crowd cheered both of them on to the bitter end.

I think this is an encouraging sign for the future of poetry in Ireland. The backing and support from Poetry Ireland means an awful lot for us college poets.

It was a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable event; and I’ll be back next year, even if it’s just as an audience member.

18 ENTERTAINMENT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

CONSCIENCE OF A KING: An interview with Derbhle Crotty

By Darren Coppinger Still basking in her victory in the Best Actress category at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards, Derbhle Crotty brings all the energy and life to her conversation that she does to the characters she portrays on stage.

Perhaps it is this level of vitality and enthusiasm that has made her one of the most celebrated and recognisable actors working on the Irish stage today.

Her fearlessness undoubtedly contributed to her casting as Henry IV in Druid Theatre’s gender-blind production of DruidShakespeare, which toured Ireland last year and included performances in New York’s Lincoln Center.

The production’s ambition was not limited to its casting of Crotty as King Henry IV and Aisling O’Sullivan as Henry V – the character of Richard II, although played by actor Marty Rae, was also portrayed in a gender-fluid manner.

Many would have been intimidated by the prospect of taking on the mantle of one of Shakespeare’s most complex and nuanced characters, previously only the domain of the male acting fraternity.

As well as this, there was also the small consideration of staging Richard II, Henry IV Part One, and Henry IV Part Two, and the conclusion to the saga Henry V, in a single seven-hour performance to scare away the faint of heart.

When asked if she was at all daunted by scale of the challenge, however, Crotty quipped, “You had to grid your loins”.

She continued, “I hadn’t been involved with DruidMurphy or DruidSynge” [Druid’s previous omnibus productions] but I had, needless to say, admired them and been astonished by them from afar, and, while I’m quite experienced with Shakespeare, it was an act of faith really.

“You jump in there and you take it day by day, hour by hour.”

Ambition was not something the project lacked, and were it not for the calibre of actors, director, and the production staff involved, it may not even have been possible.

Speaking on the demands of the rehearsal schedule, Crotty said, “By the time we got to the fourth week it really was, my god, we’re going to get one more go at any one of these scenes before it goes in front of an audience.”

The combination of talented practitioners and inspirational writing, however, came together to create the runaway success story of this year’s Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.

DruidShakespeare was nominated for nine awards and took home five in the categories of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Costume Design, and Best Production.

The mammoth production was a widespread success with audiences and critics alike.

When asked if the success of the project had been foreseen, Crotty replied, “You have no way of knowing that or anticipating that. You wonder, ‘Are we going to get away with this?’

“Are we going to be able to stand this on its feet? It’s so ambitious. When we were working on Henry V, it would have been two weeks since we touched Richard II. It was almost as if it was disappearing. Fading. “ The project must have been a difficult challenge for all involved.

For Crotty, one moment in particular comes to mind when thinking of the stress of pulling together so complex a design: “We did the first preview and it was Richard II and Henry IV Part One and that was it. On the second night we did Henry IV Part Two and Henry V.” “I was walking up the stair in the [Mick Lally] theatre after doing the first night, and thinking that the next night we were going to do the next two [plays]. I just couldn’t quite believe that that was what we were going to do.

Engaging the audience: some of the craic at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Galway. Photo: Timothée Cognard.

“I really was uncomprehending of that. I knew it was written down somewhere and that I would be required to come in and do it. But couldn’t take it into my system.

“But we did do it, and the next night, we put the two of them together, and then the next night we opened. That’s the truth.

Really it was a leap of faith at every stage, and everybody took the leap together.

“You were looking at individual performances, and you were looking at scenes thinking ‘that this is really great’ or ‘that there was a terrific performance’, and you would be galvanised.

“You had an appreciation for the quality of work that people were doing, but you had no further sense that this was going to be a milestone in Irish theatrical history or anything remotely like that. You had an admiration for everybody else work, for Garry [Hynes]’s work, for all the work that was done in the technical department, as well as your fellow actors work.”

In a time of tight budget constraints and continued cuts to Arts Council funding, DruidShakespeare was perhaps the most risky of Druid’s theatrical anthologies.

Druid, however, have never shied away from a challenge.

When asked about what made the company (founded in Galway by three UCG graduates), so different to its contemporaries, and what drove them to attempt such things, Crotty ponders before responding: “There is a fearless quality to them and they have strong tastes.”

After a moment more, she adds, “I do think they attempt the impossible on a regular basis.”

Strange to think that so successful a production could be born in such seeming chaos; perhaps, it echoes the assent of Henry IV to the throne of England in the plays themselves.

It could also be said that the play retrospectively captures the current mood in Irish theatre, as it mirrors the rebellion of the Waking the Feminists movement against the gender imbalance that exists in Irish theatre.

Waking the Feminists began in opposition to the Abbey Theatre’s commemorative programme for the 1916 Rising Waking the Nation.

Of the ten plays included in the programme only one was written by a female playwright; Crotty was one of the more high profile advocates of the movement.

Although she herself has regularly performed Abbey main stage through her career, she felt compelled to speak on behalf of the writers, directors and actors that had been slighted by Ireland’s largely male-dominated theatre industry.

And much like King Henry, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”.

When asked if her success was a factor in speaking out, Crotty answers, “Yes, because of my privilege. And it made me look at that and look at my output and history and go, ‘gosh, I’ve been extraordinarily blessed.’

“There is no other word for it. And then for a while I wondered, that because I had been so blessed, if actually I did have a voice and would it be legitimate for me to speak.

“And then I thought… I will speak, because it’s very important at this stage to support [this movement] with a name that has some recognition. I had worked in the Irish theatre for over 20 years.

“But I definitely hesitated for a while and wondered whether my voice was necessary or how useful it would be. But then I thought that, if it’s not relevant, then it won’t do any harm, and if it does anything better than that, well then great.”

The Waking the Feminists movement continues to garner support from theatres in Ireland, including Druid themselves, and from overseas.

Crotty believes that this rebellion will live long in the minds of those involved in Irish theatre: “It’s a question of hearts and minds and I absolutely believe that hearts and minds have been changed.

“I feel that you can’t go back from here, you can’t unsee what you have seen. And if you do there will be someone there to call you on it. And needless to say I strongly believe that this is important for the life blood of theatre. It’s about real modernity.”

“Theatre should be reflecting the times that were living in. But theatre was showing aspects that belonged to a different time.

Waking the Feminists is about dragging it into the present times.”

Whether it be rebellion on or off stage, Derbhle Crotty seems ideally suited to both.

ENTERTAINMENT 19

March 30 2016

PREVIEW: Cúirt International Festival of Literature

By Frank Roddy The Cúirt International Festival of Literature is fast-approaching, a festival that attracts writers and readers from around the globe.

From 17 to 24 April, Galway will be host to numerous events from readings to workshops.

But with such an expansive programme of events, it is hard to know where to start when trying to decide what to attend.

So, to proffer you a helping hand, I have made a few picks I would recommend for anyone.

They say the beginning is a very good place to start, so my first suggestion is to get yourself to the Official Opening of the festival on 17 April in the Hotel Meyrich.

The event looks to be a taster of events to come with readings from Rita Ann Higgins, Elaine Feeney, and Mike McCormack.

And as well as readings, there will be music from St Patrick’s Brass Band; a very cultured evening indeed.

On the 23 April, Louise O’Neill and Rachel B Glaser will appear together at the Town Hall Theatre.

O’Neill is fast become a strong voice in Irish Literature after her novel Asking For It won the Irish Book of the year award last year.

With its powerful story dealing with sexual abuse, Asking For It is impossible to ignore and is sure to be discussed at length during the talk.

Glaser is an American poet, writer, and artist.

She has released a collection of short stories and a collection of poetry, but most recently has published Paulina and Fran, a comingof-age novel about two arts school students and their friendship.

But what I myself am most curious about is her writing about videogames, as seen in Continue? The Boss Fights Books Anthology…

Also in the Town Hall Theatre, Donal Ryan and Charles Bock will give a talk on 22 April.

Ryan gained much attention and many accolades with his debut novel The Spinning Heart, which he followed up soon after with another acclaimed novel The Thing About December.

Last year, he published a collection of stories entitled A Slanting of the Sun: Stories, and his next novel All We Shall Know is due for publication later this year.

Given that The Spinning Heart was rejected almost 50 times before it was published, and then went on to be long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, this is definitely a talk for those worried about rejection from publishers.

The Tipperary man will be joined by American Charles Boch, writer of the novel Beautiful Children, a story about runaway teens in Las Vegas and a New York Times–bestseller.

And with all the praise his new novel Alice and Oliver is receiving, it could experience similar success.

Breaking the theme of Irish writers coupled with American writers, Kevin Barry and Patrick deWitt will follow Ryan and Boch that night in the Town Hall Theatre.

Canadian Patrick deWitt has written three novels, each to critical acclaim. His most recent, Undermajordomo Minor was published last year.

Kevin Barry is an Irish writer currently living in Co Sligo. He has released two collections of short stories as well as two novels: The City of Bohane, a book set in a 2053 Ireland with mini-

mal technology; and Beatlebone, a fictionalised tale of John Lennon travelling to the island The Beatles legend owned off the west coast of Ireland.

A self-described “raving egomaniac”, Barry promises to be an interesting speaker.

But it won’t be just Ireland and North America making their presence felt at Cúirt either.

Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with a range of law degrees from Cambridge, the University of Zimbabwe, and Graz University.

And this no doubt influenced her new novel The Book of Memory, a book about an albino woman’s struggle on death row in a Zimbabwean prison.

Critical reception indicates that Gappah has lived up to the success of her first book, which won the Guardian’s First Book Award in 2009.

She will be appearing at the Nun’s Island Theatre on 21 April.

But if by now you’re getting a bit sick of the thought of so many novelists and short story writers, then I recommend Leslie Jamison in conversation with Sinead Gleeson of RTE Radio One’s The Book Show.

While Jamison has written a novel, The Gin Closet, she is best-known for her book of essays The Empathy Exams.

The author of a New York Times–bestselling book of essays, her event is certain to appeal to fans of nonfiction.

So if you’re one of them, then head down to the Nun’s Island Theatre to see what promises to a very interesting conversation.

One of the final speaker events will be on 23 April in the Town Hall Theatre. This will see both Mike McCormack and John Banville reading.

McCormack is an award-winning novelist and short story writer as well as a lecturer here at NUI Galway. And with a style described by GQ as “gracefully morbid”, his reading is sure to be a notable one.

McCormack’s next novel Solar Bones will be published in May of this year by Tramp Press.

John Banville is not just one of the most celebrated writers in the country, but worldwide, receiving numerous awards for his literary work.

He has also received acclaim as a crime novelist under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, often writing about a Dublin pathologist named Quirke.

In addition to these and so many other speakers, Cúirt consists of a host of other events.

For those of you interested in doing some of your own writing, there are a selection of workshops with people such as writer Simon Van Booy and Editor of The Stinging Fly Declan Meade.

These look to be very helpful to aspiring writers of all disciplines and will most likely sell-out quickly. If you’re interested in attending any of them, get your tickets ASAP. And finally, we can’t forget ROPES (the literary journal published by NUI Galway’s very own Master’s in Literature and Publishing students), the latest edition of which will be launched during Cúirt.

Make sure to get to the Town Hall Theatre Bar on 20 April to support your fellow students and the always excellent journal they produce.

This goes double if you have class with anyone who got into this year’s issue!

ARTS IN ACTION: A reflection

By Deirdre Leonard On Thursday 24 March, the Arts in Action 2016 Grand Finale took place in the upper Aula Maxima. The event entitled ‘War, Freedom, Love and Loss’ was part of the A Nation Rising: Éire Á Múscailt programme directed

by NUI Galway’s very own Dr Mary Harris.

This special event commemorated the cultural aspects of the 1916 Rising through music, poetry, and drama, and the evening in question was a collaboration between the English Department, the School of Medicine, and the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance, who came together to perform poems, songs, and music from the time of the Rising.

Over the last year, the Arts in Action initiative and NUI Galway’s ‘A Nation Rising’ programme has worked to promote the voices and people behind the historical event.

President of NUI Galway Dr Jim Browne said of the programmes that “100 years later, we share the same passion for knowledge and belief in the power of education” that was present in the leaders back then, something that this gala hoped to celebrate fully.

The evening itself aimed to explore the importance of the culture and literature from the early 20th century in Ireland, with over 40 medical students performing songs from 1900-1920 on the night.

There was also a performance by actors from the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, who will took part in a production narrated by Professor Sean Ryder, Head of English at NUI Galway, and directed

by Caroline Lynch.

The 1916 Rising was led by a number of scholars and visionaries and this event served to honour and celebrate the passion of these men and women: three of the 1916 leaders were heavily involved in the literary world, with Pádraig Pearse, Joseph Mary Plunkett, and Thomas MacDonagh all accomplished poets at the time.

A selection of their work was performed by three actors on the night, alongside the work of other poets like Eva Gore-Booth, who wrote about a similar era of Irish life and history.

These performances were counterpointed by music performed by the NUI Galway Medical Orchestra.

The orchestra, established in 2011, had played a number of high profile events in recent years and is a wonderfully positive programme available to medical students of NUI Galway.

The music and songs for the night were researched and directed by Carl Hession, a notable Irish arranger, composer, and pianist born in Galway.

Flying the flag at the Arts in Action finale. Photo: Timothée Cognard.

20 ENTERTAINMENT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

#FreeKesha: An update on the singer’s story

By Laura McGettigan The ongoing legal battle between singer Kesha and music producer Dr. Luke gained worldwide attention on 22 February when Kesha was denied an injunction to terminate her contract with said producer, and Sony, amid claims of sexual, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse.

The ‘Tik Tok’ singer claims that Dr. Luke drugged and sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions, and that the producer was the cause of her eating disorder, which saw her being admitted to Timberline Knolls rehab facility last year.

Kesha claims that Gottwald (Dr. Luke) emotionally abused her about her appearance and weight continuously, saying that they were below both his and “Hollywood’s standards”.

Kesha also claims that Gottwald threatened that, if she ever mentioned the rape to anyone, he would “shut [her] career down, take away all [her] publishing and recording rights, and otherwise destroy not only [her] life but [her] entire family’s lives as well.”

Following Kesha’s public allegations and request to end her contract, Gottwald has filed a defamation suit on Kesha’s mum Pebe Serbert.

“The world is not a safe place for women, the music industry is especially not a safe place for women”, said managing editor of Complex magazine Lauren Nostro.

“Kesha’s current situation speaks volumes to the lack of attention this industry pays to protecting women.”

Once a stalwart of this same industry, singer CeeLo Green was brought to court following claims that he drugged and raped a 33 year-old woman after a dinner in 2012.

He even took to Twitter in an attempt to defend himself, stating that “if someone is passed out they’re not even WITH you consciously. So WITH implies consent. So if I TRIED but did NOT succeed but the person said I DID then what really happened?”

Mr Calloway (Green) pleaded “no contest” to the charge that he drugged the woman, later tweeting that rape is not really rape if the person is unconscious, yet was still deemed “not guilty” by the judge.

The injustice and incredulity of this is startling.

As little girls and boys, we are taught to stand up for ourselves and speak out against anyone who hurts or bullies us, to tell an adult or someone of authority. So at what point does this change for little girls; when they become women?

While in rehab, Kesha gained the courage to acknowledge the abuse she had been subject to, and to reveal Dr Luke to the world for what he really was. And while the law may have failed Kesha, the world listened.

Since Kesha’s injunction was denied, the movement #FreeKesha has gained worldwide attention and acclaim, where celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Adele, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Kelly Clarkson have flocked to social media to social media to support Ms Serbert (Kesha).

Kelly Clarkson, who was previously signed with Dr. Luke’s label, tweeted, “Trying 2 not say anything since I can’t say anything nice about a person. So this is me not talking about Dr. Luke.”

Taylor Swift also donated $250,000 to help Kesha fund her legal expenses and even music-producing giants MTV Music tweeted a picture of the singer with the caption, “We stand by Kesha Rose.”

Since the allegations against Dr. Luke emerged, much more negative information has come to light regarding him. Apparently, the ‘Dr.’ in Dr. Luke refers to his drug-dealing past; and this was compounded by the emergence of Kelly Clarkson’s 2013 statement that she had been “blackmailed” into working with Mr Gottwald.

“Unfortunately, when you have that poor of character, so many artists don’t like working with you”, said the American Idol Winner.

“I get along with everyone I work with but he’s just not a good guy for me. He’s kind of difficult to work with, kind of demeaning.”

The record label made a stating saying that, “Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances”.

However, the record label, which houses artist such as Chris Brown and R. Kelly, will not agree to terminate the six-album contract that Kesha signed aged 18.

With all of this in mind, how could a woman feel safe enough to speak out against a rapist if powerful men are so strongly defended by the law?

When teaching our daughters to speak up for themselves, and to speak out against anyone who tries to take advantage of them,

should we also warn them that powerful men are allowed by law to do what they want and that, if a victim contests her abuse in a court of law, then she will be made out to be promiscuous, a fabricator, and a liar?

When Kesha stood up against Luke Gottwald, the judge ruled wrongly in the favour of the producer as she ruled that, as a direct consequence of her ruling against the producer, Sony would suffer “irreplaceable harm” if Kesha were to be freed from her contractual obligations, and that her “instinct is to do the commercially reasonable thing”.

Justice Shirley Kornrich’s decision to do the “commercially reasonable thing” lit a fire inside a number of people all over the world: a media frenzy erupted and the #FreeKesha movement began trending worldwide.

Reports have now surfaced that Sony will be ending the contract of Luke Gottwald a year early, following the media frenzy, in order to regain credibility for the brand amidst the worldwide outpouring of support for Kesha.

A dissolution of the contract would be a direct breach, however, and therefore a negotiated exit is the most likely way out for Mr Gottwald; an exit that will not see him left empty-handed.

But even if Sony demanded this “negotiated exit”, this case shows that the welfare of a young woman and her emotional and mental welfare is not the concern of the company. It was the media frenzy that has pushed Sony into reconsidering Dr. Luke’s position at the company and not Kesha’s safety, their reputation – not her life and wellbeing.

However, it was the world that emerged as the rightful jury in Kesha’s case, as an outpouring of support saw the world stand in solidarity with the singer; and this, I hope, will pave the way for young girls and women everywhere to feel safe enough to stand up against anyone who may hurt them, powerful or not.

Without the support of the people, the music industry will fall apart. And although the music industry may not be concerned with the welfare of women, thankfully the world is.

Some of the free street theatre that took place in Galway last week to commemorate the 1916 centenary. Photo: Timothée Cognard.

ENTERTAINMENT 21

March 30 2016

What’s going on in Galway?

A guide to what’s happening and where around NUI Galway from 30 March until 20 May

By Frank Roddy

On 7 May, The Young Folk come to Galway in support of their second album First Sign of Morning.

A bit of alternative folk is sure to get you moving, though I don’t know how you would describe such movements. I’m going to rule out bopping and moshing, however.

The €12.50 ticket price doesn’t include an answer to that mystery but it is likely to include a performance of their new single ‘Home’, which has been creating quite a bit of buzz.

As we near the end of it all, some might want to celebrate the end of exams with comedy, some with music.

But for €18, you can save having to split the group when David O’Doherty comes to the Town Hall Theatre on 13 May with his new show We Are All In The Gutter But Some of Us are Looking at David O’Doherty.

Given the “in the gutter”–feeling exams can often leave us with, this feels like a suitable title for the show timing-wise.

Expect to hear stand-up and tunes about the DOD’s beefs, texting the person the text was about, and the surreal situations only

Just like my first column in this section of Sin, my last will concern making plans to get you through your exams.

This time it’s the summer exams, and a few more events to help you see out your lease before you go home for the summer holidays.

One of Ireland’s most exciting live acts, HamsandwicH will be coming to the Róisín Dubh on 8 April.

For €16.50, you can attend this acoustic evening, a departure from the usual HamsandwicH gig.

This intimate show will have more in common with their sell-out Christmas show at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

For those stressing as their exams edge ever closer, Mario Rosenstock will be performing live in the Town Hall Theatre on 21, 22, and 23 April.

With his usual characters from both his RTÉ One TV show and his Gift Grub segments on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, as well as some newbies, Rosenstock is sure to take your mind off your impend-

ing doom just long enough for you to enjoy yourself. €31.75 will get you a ticket to a show in a perfect place on the calendar between the fallout of the General Election and the build up to Euro 2016 – no doubt giving Mario plenty of new material to work with.

Should you not want to be distracted from study, and would prefer your entertainment to be of a motivational and inspiring nature, then Galway Musical Society presents Legally Blonde, playing from 12 April to 16 April in the Town Hall Theatre.

Elle Woods’ story of getting into and through Harvard Business School will surely inspire you to make it through another exams season.

Even if you are not the studious type, the songs will still have plenty of appeal. And with tickets from €16, this evening will be sure to help you find your “eye of the tiger” (wrong film I know, but still!).

Afraid that motivation won’t cut it though? Need a hero – dare I say a superhero?

Town Hall Theatre once again

comes to the rescue as Galway Community Circus presents CirComic.

With tickets from €8, this unique show on 1 and 2 April brings the superheroes of comic books to life in circus form.

It looks to be less brooding than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and much less distressing than Captain America: Civil War, so this is definitely a superhero adaptation worth seeing.

If you need a laugh during the exam weeks, Deirdre O’Kane’s new show 1Dee comes to the Róisín Dubh on 29 April.

After a seven-year break from stand up, O’Kane has returned with a new show about being a stay-athome mum, middle age, and a host of other topics from her not-so-dull life.

Despite her hiatus, O’Kane hasn’t missed a beat, and €18 is a great price to see one of Ireland’s sharpest comedians at her best.

But all this watching and listening compounding your having to sit still during your exams might end up being what gets you down; so, as usual, the Róisín Dubh can remedy the situation.

David O’Doherty could find himself in, all in his signature low-energy musical whimsy.

Or, as he sometimes calls it, “vlemwy”.

However, perhaps you like your Irish musical comedians with more rhythm and less tiny ’80s keyboards.

Maybe you’re looking for something quite specific? Is that specific thing Ireland’s top comedy hip hop improv team?

Well it should be; and you’ll see why when Abandoman come to the Róisín Dubh on 20 May. One of the most interesting comedy acts performing today, Abandoman will put together hilarious raps based on the contents of their audience’s pockets, and that’s just their warm-up.

Each Abandoman show really is unique, so even if you’ve seen them a dozen times before, it will be €15 well-spent.

If you haven’t, put something that you think would be hard to rap about into your pocket and head to the Róisín Dubh to see just how good these guys are.

It’s been a blast, everyone. Have a great summer.

Why should you stick around Galway this summer?

A guide to the best entertainment in town for the coming months

By Maria Higgins With summer just a few weeks away, there are lots of students actively searching for jobs so they can stay in Galway for it. Because really, who would want to leave Galway when there’s a possibility there might actually be some sun?

And not only that, Galway plays host to some many events that draw a crowd every summer and must be experienced at least once.

First up, the Galway Film Fleadh is scheduled to run from 5 July to 10 July.

An annual festival in Galway, now in its 28th year, this international event draws filmmakers from around the world and gives its audience a wonderful glimpse into the world of filmmaking.

The festival includes documentaries, short films, World Cinema, Irish Cinema, and animated films across the six days. There are also masterclasses available with dif-

ferent people working in the film industry. The Film Fleadh is a must for film lovers this summer.

Running alongside the Film Fleadh from 9 July to 25 July is the Galway Fringe Festival.

This festival encompasses all the different mediums of art, from drama to dance, to literature to comedy, to visual art and street spectacles.

It included a variety of acts, meaning there’s something enjoyable for everybody, aiming to showcase a mixture of Irish and international talent.

If you’d like to get involved, you can apply to take part in the Fringe Festival; applications are open for anyone interested.

And if you’re not comfortable performing but want to be immersed in the cultural atmosphere all the same, the festival’s organisers are also looking for volunteers to help with different aspects of the event.

One of the best festivals of Galway’s summer is the Galway Arts Festival.

This event has grown into one of the largest and most diverse arts festivals in the country. It involves comedy, music, haunting street performances, and a fantastic atmosphere in the city.

This year it runs from 11 July to 24 July and some major acts have already been announced, such as Bell X1 with special guests The Academic and Elvis Costello amongst them.

Last year’s headliners included Kodaline and Damien Dempsey, along with numerous plays running in the Druid theatre and others around the city such as Patrick McCabe’s The Dead School and Frank McGuinness’s The Match Box. The Arts Festival has something for everyone and is sure to generate an electric atmosphere.

To finish the list of fantastic festivals in July, there is the Galway Races, this year running from 25 July to 31 July.

The busiest week in Galway involves a trip out to Ballybrit, where you have the chance to spend all of your hard-earned money.

And the fashion alone is worth going to see, especially on the Thursday, or Ladies’ Day, when there is a “mad hatter” competition for the best hat, and a separate competition for the best-dressed lady.

After the day at the racecourse ends, most of the attendees normally venture back into the city for a night of fun and frolics.

Meanwhile, for all sports-lovers in

Galway, there is also plenty to enjoy.

On 7 May, there is the Darkness into Light Galway City 5k run for Pieta House.

Not only is this event a chance to run into the sunrise, it also raises money for charity.

However, if you want to experience something a bit more challenging, and beautiful scenery to boot, then there is the Tour de Conamara 2016, which takes place in Clifden on 28 May. This daunting cycling event has the option of 80km and 140km routes.

But if you don’t want or need a competitive element in your summer activity, then you could do much worse than to visit the Aran Islands (Inis Mór being the most popular choice, especially for international tourists) for a day, hire a bike to cycle around, and absorb all of the wild, rustic beauty; while a road trip along Conamara’s roads is always worth it for the scenery alone.

Another festival that’s a little of out Galway city centre is Tuam’s Sugar Beat festival.

This has been growing in popularity for the last few years and, although the exact dates haven’t been announced yet, it will take place during August.

Last year, this two-day festival had The Stunning, Ryan Sheridan, Hometown, and Original Rudeboys.

Held outdoors, it is also within walking distance of the city centre, so it’s easy to wander out and grab some food in between acts.

If you would be more interested in Galway’s food scene but don’t want to wait until September for the Oyster festival, then Athenry (just outside of Galway city) has a food festival from 17 June to 19 June, with the majority of the food available sourced locally.

There are also cookery demonstrations and a produce market over the course of the weekend.

And finally, on top of all the wonderful festivals it has to offer, Galway city itself has plenty for you to while those hazy days away.

You can have a great summer trying out all the bars, cafés, and restaurants around the city, walk out to Salthill, or just bask in those sunny days when everyone gathers around the Spanish Arch to enjoy the sunshine.

There’s no end to the fun things to do in Galway during the summer, and that means there are so many reasons to come back to it – if you do ever manage to leave.

Have a great one.

22 ENTERTAINMENT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

FILM REVIEW: London Has Fallen

By Ryan Mc Guinness London Has Fallen, directed by Babak Najafi, can at best be described as xenophobic. All westerners are seen as innocent bystanders and all Muslims are portrayed as single-minded extremists.

This is the sequel to Olympus has Fallen, where a gang of renegade North Koreans manage to successfully attack and take over the White House. Luckily enough for all of America, there was a Scot to save the day as Gerard Butler defeated the baddies and protected the president.

It was an action-packed, cliché-riddled piece of cinema, and going into its sequel I was expecting more of the same. Sadly, I was right.

So the plot goes like this.

An evil Pakistani arms dealer named Aamir Barkawi (Alon Abutbul) is found to be responsible for the deaths of many people (he’s number six on the top ten most wanted list we’re conveniently told at one point).

In retaliation, an American drone bombs a wedding attended by Barkawi, killing his daughter, and many friends and family, but not Barkawi himself.

In further retaliation, Barkawi sets up a highly elaborate plan, involving arranging the death of the British Prime Minister, infiltrat-

ing the London police force, and getting all the western leaders to London to systematically assassinate them.

Gerard Butler returns as human highlight reel Mike Banning, head of the US president’s personal bodyguard unit. While all other security services fail in protecting their bosses, Butler manages to keep President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) in pretty good shape against an army of angry terrorists.

A number of confusing action scenes follow, and Banning must use all his skills to get the president out of harm’s way. Will he manage to save Asher while at the same time kill more bad guys than Clint Eastwood in Where Eagles Dare? I wonder…

I’m going to start with what I liked – or didn’t hate – about the film, because those moments are few and far between.

The camerawork whilst a helicopter carrying Banning and the president along with secret service director Lynn Jacobs (Angela Bassett) was hurtling to the ground after being hit by an RPG was pretty effective: the camera spins from inside to outside the helicopter before crashing to the ground and is one of the very few times where the CGI didn’t look god-awful.

I also enjoyed the street-fight Banning and the SAS squad waged against the terrorists in the dead of night, as the infamous shaky-cam

and close quarters combat made the scene feel somewhat authentic.

Other than these two scenes, however, this film refused to let me enjoy it.

The saddest part was the destruction of numerous landmarks in London, something that may indicate how little sympathy is evoked by this film in regards to characters. The French, German, Japanese, and Canadian prime ministers’ assassinations are completely irrelevant, as is the death of the Italian PM (who is hilariously like Silvio Berlusconi).

Their deaths serve only to illuminate Banning and Asher’s successful attempt at not dying, a superiority complex that refuses to go away. Each time they get out of a scrape, a jovial quip is uttered by Banning, destroying any attempt at a serious plot.

To put some of these into perspective, Banning makes a joke about the president coming out of the closet after he literally comes out of a closet. Yup. Banning is also portrayed as being more xenophobic than Donald Trump (the angry Republican version, not the liberal New Yorker) at times, at one point telling a terrorist he was beating to death to “Go back to F***headistan or wherever it is you’re from!”

Such lines take whatever little credibility this film has and chucks it right into the gutter.

It is full of wasted talent, most notably that of Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, and Jackie Earle Haley.

The trio spend the entire film looking shocked from within the war room as the story unfolds, their only purpose to progress the story, helped by Barkawi himself, who has managed to hack into a TV signal transmitted directly to the war room inhabitants with the sole purpose of explaining what’s happening and why.

Such blatancy reminds me of those ’60s Bond films where the villain explains his elaborate plan instead of merely killing 007. But I digress.

Jingoism is also prevalent throughout, as the Americans learn absolutely nothing from the entire ordeal and seem to refuse any deviation from their aggressive foreign policy that caused this act of vengeance on the part of Barkawi.

This is a poor film. It’s something that should go straight to DVD release. A poor script, crappy CGI and in-your-face patriotic fervour makes it unbearable to watch.

This is the perfect example of how an allstar cast can’t save a terrible idea for a film (here’s looking at you, R.I.P.D.). Don’t spend your money on this unless you enjoy ’80s dumb action movies that are unbearably shameful but just don’t care that they are.

London has fallen alright. Into mediocrity.

BOOK REVIEW: The Noise of Time by John Barnes

By Frank Roddy Imagine this review started with a premise filled with potential excitement. Just under the surface, at any moment, something thrilling was going to be said.

Now, imagine I stretched such a promise out for a third of the review without payoff. Instead, I just said the premise was finished and carried on with the review.

At the end of the review, I wouldn’t cover any real opinion or new ground, you would simply know that I read the book and that time had passed while I had.

That’s how reading Julian Barnes’ latest book felt. The Noise of Time is a fictionalised telling of Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich’s life, divided into three “conversations with Power” from his life.

Shostakovich was A Soviet pianist and composer, and the book’s first third deals with his being blacklisted by Joseph Stalin after the leader was unimpressed by Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

We meet the composer in the middle of the night, fully dressed with a small travelling case at his feet, waiting by the elevator to be arrested by the KGB. He does this each night to avoid a commotion in his family home. It is a tense opening and gave me certain expectations. These were not fulfilled, however; instead he returns to spending his nights in bed.

Barnes had succeeded in writing a scenario that hooked me, only to let me go. He lost me.

And despite the political intrigue that followed, I was disinterested.

“Only the names have been changed” is a common disclaimer added to works based on true stories. But The Noise of Time’s caveat should be “only the thoughts have been added”, as the novel sticks rigidly to the facts aside from Barnes’ description of the composer’s thoughts.

Barnes’ unwillingness to alter the events of Shostakovich’s life indicate that he was aiming to show readers why the composer did what he did throughout his life.

The idea that it is more difficult to be a coward, to do what needs to be done to survive, than to be courageous and die is brought up many times.

Perhaps if Shostakovich had died young he’d be remembered as a genius cut down by “Power” before his best work instead of a compromised man who joined the Party.

But Barnes’ Shostakovich was so boring to spend time with that this message would be lost on me if it weren’t for director Christopher Nolan already summing it up in one line: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

And Nolan did it with a Batman movie. I’ll forgive Barnes on the action front; a composer could never beat Batman there. But if the Caped Crusader is making memorable the philosophical points you’re boring me with, it just makes me wonder why I’m not watching The Dark Knight.

I was disappointed when Shostakovich just went to bed at the end of the first third of The Noise of Time. After finishing I think he had the right idea.

ENTERTAINMENT 23

March 30 2016

The Galway Gamer: X

By Eoghan Murphy Gamers, by their very nature, think they know it all. This could be due to their years spent carefully calculating statistics, endlessly practising combination attacks, and remembering complex codes and passwords.

However, contrary to this wealth of knowledge, there have still been certain moments throughout history that have caught gamers completely off-guard and left them gobsmacked.

Players who had spent the early 1990s arguing in schoolyards over who’d win in a fight between Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog didn’t know what to do with themselves when these two icons appeared side-by-side in Super Smash Bros’ Brawl.

In 2010, fighting game fans were beside themselves with the announcement of Street Fighter X Tekken, a game that featured characters from two of gaming’s best-known franchises going head-to-head for the first time.

However, all those moments that knocked players off their seats and took them completely unawares seem to pale in comparison with Microsoft hinting towards cross-platform play with Playstation.

Microsoft and Sony are the modern equivalent of Nintendo and Sega. They are bitter rivals, locked in perpetual competition to dominate the world of console gaming.

For each move that one company makes, the other replies in kind in order to secure its portion of the market.

When Microsoft announced details of its Xbox One, Sony rushed to the main stage to undercut the price with their Playstation 4;

when Playstation announced the upcoming treasure-hunting adventure game Uncharted 4, Xbox responded by locking Rise of the Tomb Raider to its console as an exclusive.

This back and forth Punch and Judy show between the two heavyweights of the video game industry encourages competition between them and provides a consistent source of amusement for fans of each company’s machine, giving them “blast processing”–style ammunition for debates about which console is superior.

As the fabled console war rages on and endlessly ravages online forums, it seems that Microsoft have thrown a rather large spanner in the works.

The company, whose Xbox One is currently trailing behind the Playstation 4 in terms of overall sales and popularity, recently announced that it will support cross-platform play. What this essentially means is that players on Xbox One can play against gamers on other machines.

This may seem relatively simple on paper; however, it completely changes the rules that we’ve all become accustomed to, slapping players from all parts of the world with another completely unexpected twist in the ongoing saga.

The announcement came mid-March when the company stated that it would support cross-platform play between the Xbox One and the PC-based Windows 10.

It then followed through by saying that it was also opened to other multiplayer platforms, including other consoles. This put the ball firmly in Sony’s court. The invite is there, displaying itself in full view and backed by

legions of gamers who want to prove their worth against the best that Xbox has to offer.

But, is it really a good idea, or is it simply a ploy?

First and foremost, it’s worth remembering that although the executives from each company may take the time to smile and congratulate each other on their respective milestones, they also seem intent on doing everything in their power to eliminate their rivals from the race.

With this in mind, it’s worth considering whether or not this is the pipedream that players have called out for since the dawn of the online age, or if it’s a pitfall set up to make the opposing force look foolish on the global scale.

Furthermore, what about the players themselves; the gamers that are chomping at the bit to represent their favourite brand?

How would they be treated in such a monumental endeavour?

Although it all looks like its streets are paved with gold in theory, there are a number of things that could easily ruin the experience for all involved.

There are titles that run differently on each console; the number of frames per second, for example, could change from one machine to the next. Although it may seem like a minor gripe, in fast-paced games, it could essentially be the defining element that sways the final results of a match.

How would this be balanced in a cross platform scenario? Would one player’s console have to make do with a lower frame rate while the other provides him with a swift and brutal thrashing?

Or would each machine have to play according to the lowest common denominator, subsequently causing the owner of the better machine to sacrifice the higher grade gaming experience that they had bought their console for?

This is without considering console exclusive characters or weaponry, and how these elements would be implemented without upsetting the balance.

At the moment, this ground-breaking idea of cross-platform play is being pushed forward for Psyonix’s immensely popular title, Rocket League, a game that sees players steering radio control cars around a football field in a bizarre sports acting like a hybrid of RollCage and Sensible Soccer.

It seems safe to assume that other games will follow suit. If Sony decide to trust their rivals and involve themselves in this colossal gaming experiment, it could change the face of online gaming as we know it.

It will be a bumpy ride and will take a long time to perfect; however, it will also give players so much more to play for and, eventually, it could even answer the age-old question: Which console has the better players, Xbox or Playstation?

Eoghan Murphy is a Galway City–based music and gaming journalist. Born and raised on 1980s thrash metal, this ex-vocalist also enjoys a touch of hard rock and hip hop. When not banging his head to extreme music, he can usually be found knee deep in piles of video games, competing at tournaments and writing for www.Hit-Start-Now.com or spinning chiptunes on Flirt FM at 2pm each Thursday as the Galway Gamer.

GALWAY2020: A virtual capital of culture?

By Darren Coppinger Galway city is currently bidding to become one of the cities named as the European Capital of Culture for 2020.

Each year, this prestigious title is awarded to two European cities to highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe and celebrate the shared history and values of all Europeans.

It is also a means to raise a city’s international profile and boost its tourism industry.

The 2020 winning cities, one from Ireland and the other from Croatia, will hold the title for a year and receive funding of €1.5 million to host and run events throughout that year.

Both Dublin and Cork have won the award, in 1991 and 2005 respectively.

Galway’s bid for the prestigious title is being led by the organisation Galway2020 and, last November, they succeeded in being shortlisted for the award along with the Limerick and the Waterford Three Sisters bids.

Galway2020 has also been successful in generating large online support for its bid and, according to figures released by the group behind Galway’s campaign, they have already achieved the second largest digital footprint relative to any previous successful capital of culture campaigns.

Their efforts to make Galway the European Capital of Culture for 2020 have been widely supported by Galway residents and businesses.

However, the Galway2020 team are keenly aware that one of the keys to achieving their goal of being named a capital of culture is having and demonstrating the ability to reach out and include as many European citizens in their scheduled events as possible.

From this awareness came the idea of using virtual reality (VR) to connect with and transport people from all over the continent to Galway city.

The project they have set up to achieve this aim is entitled “Window on the World”.

With the release of various VR devices this year, such as the Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive, as well as the announcement this month of PlayStation VR’s October release date, this technology has the potential to change the way in which today’s consumers interact with and utilise digital media.

The Galway2020 team believe that, by the year 2020, VR will have integrated itself into all of the visual arts; and they aim to provide a platform to showcase what the medium is capable of.

At their project development workshop (on 10 March in the Harbour Hotel), Galway2020 brought together contributing artists and developers of VR technology to generate project proposals to be included in their capital of culture bid.

The event was well-attended, with around 200 people taking part, the workshop aiming to create projects that used the new VR technology to “immerse people in entirely new artistic experiences, tell stories in completely new ways, and look at the world from new perspectives.”

At the event, Galway2020 programme manager Jane Daly appealed to all artists in attendance to use VR as another platform to reach their audiences. She continued, saying, “To all the purists of theatre, music, and dance, virtual reality can only enhance your projects.”

The event also included presentations from those already involved in the development of projects for 2020 bid.

These included Fibin Theatre’s Ruth Gordan, who proposes to create holographic projections at the sites of currently dilapidated buildings in the city, using a process called projection-mapping.

In using projection-mapping, an audience “could rebuild Menlo castle”, a city landmark located on the Corrib River, or – should they want to – “destroy it all over again.”

Gary Dempsey from RealSim, a Galway-based developer of real-time 3D models, also spoke about using VR to explore a 3D simulation of medieval Galway or even other time periods in the city’s history.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the event was the desire of the Galway2020 team to encourage ambitious projects.

This approach was linked to the core concept of the Galway 2020 bid: “Making Waves”; Galway2020 want to encourage participants to engage in projects that “disrupt thinking, provoke creative response, and empower change”.

The enthusiasm of the group was infectious and there was a palpable air of positivity among attendees at end of the workshop.

In the coming months, it will be interesting to discover if Galway2020’s capital of culture bid is successful and, assuming it is, what projects were born of this meeting.

However, even if the bid is unsuccessful, it is still fascinating to see that an organisation like Galway2020 believes VR could be an important part in the communication of their events to the wider world.

During their presentation, Galway2020’s speakers proclaimed that, “By 2020, virtual reality will be bigger than TV!” With the June deadline for the bid looming, Galway’s citizens will soon find out if Galway2020 has been successful in their endeavours.

And if they are, then perhaps 2020 could also be the year that Galway leads European culture into the unexplored realm of virtual reality.

24 ENTERTAINMENT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

Sin Fiction: Revelation

This is an excerpt from Lights, Rachael O’Connor’s work-in-progress novel for young adults.

By Rachael O’Connor

After succumbing to peer pressure and making bad decisions, sixteen-year-old Olivia is taken from her home city to live in the tiny beach village of Little Hope for the summer.

There she meets Cyprien, an off-centred boy who seems to be discovering the world for the first time.

An unusual, unrelenting heatwave has taken control of the country. Olivia’s friend from home, Lana, visits her, but since leaving the city, Olivia has learned to stand up for herself. A small argument escalates into something huge, and the visit ends on bad terms.

T

he heat from the day had finally subsided, and Cyprien and I sat side-by-side on the grass at the top of the cliff, overlooking the ocean.

Our feet dangled over the edge, and Cyprien was swinging his legs and kicking his heels rhythmically against the earth.

With each kick, loose dirt fell like sand towards the still water below. His hyperactive energy had disappeared with the sun, as it usually did, and he was solemnly picking blades of grass and tossing them into the breeze.

The full moon hung above us, looking impossibly huge, and brighter than I had ever seen it. It was late, and Little Hope was sleeping. We had been sitting there for a while, watching the lights in the little town switch off one by one, until the only artificial lights were the streetlamps that dotted the main street and the top of the beach strip.

Everything was silent, save for the low hush of the water moving below us. Even the gulls were quiet tonight. The moon gave the world a strange silver glow, like there was magic ingrained in it.

The stillness of the night calmed me, and the mixed, irritated feelings I’d had since Alana’s visit began to quell.

“She just knows how to get to me,” I was telling Cyprien. “She’s always been able to twist me round her little finger. I don’t know how she’s got this hold on me. I’m only here because of her—it was her idea to take Mam’s car for a spin. Her idea to try doing donuts.”

“And her idea to pretend the two of you didn’t know what happened to it?”

“Precisely. And you see how that went.

Carted off here for the summer.”

“I think it went very well,” Cyprien said.

“It has its ups and downs,” I relented with a smile.

We were quiet for a moment, breathing in the sea air.

“I wasn’t always like this, you know?” I said suddenly. “When I was younger I was almost as weird as you.”

“You wish,” he said.

“I was totally in my own head,” I continued, ignoring him. “I lived in a dream world and played imagination games and wrote weird stories and acted them out.”

“I thought lots of children do that?”

“Try fourteen years old,” I sighed. “But I didn’t care what anyone thought of me.

I was happy, and then I met Lana and she showed me how… how wrong it was, that I wasn’t growing up. That I liked cartoons and believed in fairies. She made me ashamed of it. And I thought the answer was pushing everyone away and acting cool, acting like her. But it’s not who I am.”

I glanced at him and found that he was studying me, a slight frown on his face.

“I think you’re getting back to who you were.”

I smiled but raised my eyebrows, some small, petty part of me not wanting to let him know how much I needed to hear that.

“You’re the first person I’ve met that I can talk to like this,” I said.

“You’re the first person I’ve met,” he replied.

I gave an exasperated laugh. “You always do that. Why do you say things like that?”

He looked at me again, that same strange gaze like he was studying me, or lost in deep thought with himself. Then he looked away, up towards the moon. And when his eyes met mine again, the smile was back.

“Well, since we’re sharing secrets.”

He stood suddenly in one swift motion, his energy returning in such a burst that I thought he was going to topple straight over the cliff edge and into the water. But he got his balance and stood above me, extending his hand. I took it and let him pull me up, and we walked the long, winding path down a grassy slope until we reached the edge of the strip.

A single streetlamp flickered against the darkness. Concrete steps led down to the beach, the pavement old and swept with sand. Weeds sprung up between the cracks, and we each took off our shoes and socks before we reached the shore, leaving them by the orange light of the lamp. And we walked toward the sea.

“Look,” Cyprien said, taking my hand again and pointing toward the sky with his free arm. “Do you see that? That star there, the bright one next to the moon.”

“It’s hard to miss it,” I said. “It’s huge.”

“That’s Jupiter!” He smiled. “Biggest planet in your solar system. And there—” he squinted. “—there! That little red one. Mars.”

We walked on. The sand began to stick to my feet as we got closer to the water.

“That one’s my favourite,” I said, pointing upward. “You see the one that looks like it’s flashing different colours? The Dog Star?

I used to make wishes on it but they only came true, like, 20% of the time.”

“There’s the big dipper,” he continued, off in his own world. “And the little dipper, there.”

Pinpricks of light broke through the dark night sky, dotting the universe with their glow.

“We’re like the stars,” he said, and he stopped walking.

I turned to him, confused. “Us? How?” “Not me and you,” he said. “Us. Me.”

“But what do you mean?”

“I’m showing you,” he said, and a faint smile appeared on his face. “Look around you.”

My gaze dropped from the sky. And I saw the ocean.

We were in the middle of it. All around us stretched water in every direction, like an infinite dark mirror. We were deep enough that it would have been up to our calves. We had walked right into the sea, but the liquid ebbed around us, never touching our feet.

An invisible barrier protected us, forcing the water back and around. We were dry, save for the mucky sand that stuck to the bottoms of our feet. I turned to face the way we came and saw the same black reflection and, in the distance, the light of the street lamp on the beach. We were an island in the middle of the sea.

Either my mind was spinning too fast for me to comprehend, or it had stopped completely.

“You— how? How are you doing this?”

He was silent, his eyes half-closed in concentration. Ahead of us a geyser erupted in deep water. I heard the roar in the distance, and before my eyes the geyser became a whirlpool, a levitating tornado. Then it collapsed, and another one began, even closer to us.

Suddenly walls of water rushed up towards us. And we were submerged—or rather, the ocean enveloped us, hanging over us, but never touching us. It rose above us and closed over our heads, blocking the light of the moon, surrounding us in a solid green glow, a liquid snow-globe.

And then, as I first noticed the silver fish flitting around in front of us, the snow-globe became an aquarium. The top opened up to let the moonlight in, and spirals of water flew into the air before falling back down.

A large grey fish swam into vision in front of me and we regarded one another in its domain. Strings of seaweed floated past, caught up in the invisible current. I put my hand up to the wall and it receded before my touch.

It was impossible. Completely impossible. As impossible as fairies and dragons and all the things I used to believe in. And it was happening right in front of me.

After a time, the water receded gently, sloping back into itself without breaking a wave. Everything became still again, and all the while I thought I heard the whisper of music notes in the air.

• • • “Okay, start talking,” We were back on the beach strip, standing under the flickering streetlamp where we had left our shoes. We had walked back slowly through the sea, and the water had pushed back from us again. This time I had watched it, entranced at the way it melted away from us.

“I just can’t believe this,” I said. “What are you?”

“Did I do a good job at passing for human?” he grinned.

“A good job? I mean... Well, I just thought you were a bit… kooky.”

“Kooky.” He nodded to himself. “I like that.”

We were quiet again, illuminated by the harsh orange light. The lamp itself was slightly crooked, casting our shadows on the wall behind us. I stole a glance and saw Cyprien was gazing up at the moon again, like he so often did. A bizarre thought struck me.

“So… are you actually from the moon?”

He looked down and caught my eye, a brilliant smile on his face.

“No!” He laughed. “But it reminds me of home.”

“Do you have the same one?”

“Not that moon, no. But something similar.”

“What about the sun?”

“I can’t stare poignantly at the sun and daydream,” he laughed. “I’ve tried, it hurts my eyes. And besides…” That sombre look returned to his face and he diverted his gaze, speaking in a lower tone. “The moon seems… lonelier. The sun brings people out.

The night is quiet.”

He paused for a moment, still star-gazing.

“It looks so close from here. But it’s hundreds of thousands of miles away,” “You miss home,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

He frowned but didn’t answer.

“Can’t you find a way back?” I asked.

“There is no way back, Olivia. I’m not an alien. I’m not from a different planet.”

“Where then?”

He grimaced. “Further.”

“Don’t bother being vague and mysterious. It’s way too late for that.”

“I don’t have the words to describe it!

I’m—" He threw his hands out wide in frustration and then froze. A strange expression came over his face and he looked up at the lamp that was casting its light on him. His face softened and he turned back to me.

“Okay,” he whispered, in a tone that almost sounded resigned.

I watched him lower his arms. I watched him straighten his back and take a breath.

And then I watched his long shadow on the wall behind us as it transformed. Large, dark shapes moved out from each shoulder’s outline, unfurling layer by layer. I was reminded of a fire catching.

Slowly, the shapes came into focus, stretching out ; a black stain creeping steadily under orange light. The two new shadows shot up, huge and alive, and I heard the swooping noise of beating wings.

He stood before me, the boy with an angel’s silhouette.

Rachael O’Connor hails from Newcastle West, County Limerick. She holds a degree in English and Philosophy, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Writing at NUI Galway.

ENTERTAINMENT 25

March 30 2016

Resonate R esonate is Sin’s culture s ection seeking NUI Galway students’ creative work to showcase and share with our readers in each edition.

We welcome submissions in all genres of writing and/or visual art, and select the work that we think will reach out to and resonate most with our student readership.

We’ve left the best for last: this edition features Sin’s very own Arts and Entertainment Editor, Neil Slevin, because we feel he can’t run a column like Resonate without contributing to it himself.

Neil is a 26 year-old writer from Co Leitrim, Ireland.

An English teacher, having graduated with a BSc in Physical Education with English from the University of Limerick in 2011, this year he returned to university to complete the MA in Writing course at NUI Galway and to pursue a writing-based career.

He has written for Sin since September, editing the Entertainment section, and it was his idea to introduce Resonate to the paper early in the year.

Neil also writes as an Events Reporter for the Institute for Lifecourse and Society (an NUI Galway centre providing community-based initiatives for the local area).

Since September 2015, he was SMITH Magazine’s Writer of the Month for October, has won various awards, including Creative Writing Ink Journal’s writing prompt competition for October-November 2015 and Cultured Vultures’ poem of the week competition, and he presented President Michael D. Higgins with some of his work at Christmas.

Neil’s poetry has been published by The Galway Review and numerous international journals, including Scarlet Leaf Review, and he is working towards the publication of his first chapbook and/or collection of poetry.

Neil also writes fiction, though he feels that this area of his work is not yet at the standard required to appear on these pages; it is something he will continue to work on.

Reflecting on Resonate and his contribution to it, Neil said, “It feels a little weird to have my own work featured by a column that I have edited and sought submissions for up to now, but I am delighted to be given this opportunity.

“I am incredibly grateful to Jessica and the entire Sin crew for their encouraging me to run with this column in the first place, and for helping me to make it somewhat of a success. I hope that Resonate will continue to flourish next year.

“For our readers’ delectation, I include five of my poems, and attempt to include pieces I have written that vary in theme, style, and their original method of composition.

“Based on personal experience, ‘Food for Thought’ is one that, arguably at least, is the reason for my becoming a writer, hence its inclusion here. In it, I attempt to portray what it is like to experience an eating disorder, and the battle for self-control that that condition often leads to. “’IX’ is the ninth poem of a short, illustrated collection that I am working on entitled I Am, that celebrates the life, people, and places of the

Northwest of Ireland. I dedicate ‘IX’ to all of the men and women who worked in the Arigna Mines at any point before it closed for good in 1990.

“Though it began its life as a piece of flash fiction, ‘A Mermaid’s Song’ is, unfortunately, based on a true and tragic story to which my fictional narrator bears witness, reflecting on both the event and its aftermath; I think of AMS as my ‘Robin Robertson poem’.

“This semester in particular, I have begun to experiment more within my writing, and ‘Shelf-Life’ is one product of what is becoming the more ‘random’ nature of my approach.

“A newbie, Shelf-Life is one of a number of poems in which I have tried to break out of my more traditional style under the guidance of my MA poetry lecturer Dr Lorna Shaughnessy, and with the help of good friend and comrade Tony Deffely.

“And, lastly, where ‘Food for Thought’ is based on a time in my life that moved me to write, ‘My Escape’ is an attempt to explain why I write, and what the process means to me. It was one of my earliest pieces.

“Thank you for reading my work; and thank you to all who contributed to Resonate this year.”

If you are interested in having your work featured in Resonate – or if you have requests for further work by any of our contributors – then please contact the editor on editor@sin.ie.

We welcome submissions from all NUI Galway students, not just those who contribute to Sin as journalists. We look forward to working with you.

Food for Thought “What’s eating you?” they ask when I push the food around my plate.

“Nothing,” I say rawly, not pausing nor stealing a moment to hesitate.

I lie to them, but not myself (no, not to me, I see my fate), knowing what’s eating me: eating is, all-too-figuratively.

And so, eschewing truth, I respond with nothing, quite literally.

I eat myself bite by bite, bone-by-bone – body, brain and soul.

Why? Because I can. And I can’t stop me.

And why should I want to stop when this is a game that only I can win and lose – and see me, raise me or fold?

I will have to stop, in the end, but not for me: I live a life divided into selves and each and every one of us is no longer whole.

I hate my body; know that he hates me.

into the darkness you now own.

Like a loveless marriage, we are stuck together, indefinitely.

Not because we want to, need to, must, but because we have to be: I’ll eat away at him while he eats away at me.

IX For all who mined in Arigna I am the wind that blows through the mines: I breathe into you and yours as you dig towards the Earth’s core, that other world, and carry the love and words of those you’ve left behind on days spent digging for life.

You leave your own to battle with the face of coal, wage war with stone – your foes smothered by explosions of rock, bullets that streak like stars slain in murderous skies – prostrate under the weight of water; your day’s light forbidden by sumps and gob.

Your weapons are not the sword or gun, but clips and caps, the hutch your cart for those now lost, greeted only by the foreman’s truce, their funeral procession your trek into that other darkness, the wounded day’s retreat.

I prowl behind you at a distance, safe enough to know you won’t hear my footsteps over your own heartbeat and the voices in your head that pound against their prison walls, shrieking for release.

You tramp for miles, yet finish in full view of a home you’ve now forgotten: you stop to turn your back on invisible, unwanted hands, unheard of, drowned-out voices and shatter the water’s veil.

The sea accepts you the way your life never will, wrapping you with open arms; you go down gracefully, and for a moment you sing like a mermaid at home in her ocean, your handful of notes bubbling, bursting as they brace the air.

Then your song ends.

I listen to the silence until strange men arrive to fish the deep waters, as if they’d always known it was here they’d find you.

And camouflaged by falling night, you escape into your other life before you pause in thanks to Him, embrace the sanctity of the flickering votive light, then let it fade into the distance and wait for the new day’s dawn.

But I don’t wait for the boy who thinks you’re still at home hiding somewhere from him.

The one who’ll always love that woman who wanders up and down the hallway, from room to room, as if the house conceals all of her life’s answers, and they are just sitting there at the back of a press, waiting to be found.

A Mermaid’s Song

The son who will always remember the last words you spoke to him, and know they were ‘Goodbye’.

One day I went home searching for waters deep enough to drown my problems, but then I thought of you.

Shelf-Life

As a child, in passing, I learned about you, heard your story spoken of but never told: how you grew unhappy in yourself, feared you’d be taken away; how you couldn’t bear the shame, you refused to.

That disused section reeks as if its books have defecated at the thought of being left: their spines no longer fingered, pages no longer thumbed, words no longer read nor imbibed into some greater consciousness where they can come to rest.

Now, I imagine you slip out and edge your way along shadows of fading light through the estate, hoping no hand will block your path, no mouth will draw you back.

They squat there, passive in their dirty protest, waiting for death’s hearty greeting at the bottom of a pit licked by a flame that’s gentle at first then burns them from the outside in until all that is left are the charred reminders of their hardback covers, their scattered words falling like the ashen snowflakes of Berlin.

I follow you, sense your relief mottled by despair, then advance

Dangan Pavilion Bus Services

This bus service will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from Monday 11th January 2016

Leaves Orbsen

5.45pm

Bus Returns from Dangan at 6.15pm, 7.15pm, 8.30pm & 9.30pm*

Monday Hockey (6.30-8pm)

Tuesday Hockey (6.30-7.30pm)

7.45pm

Thursday

Hockey (6.30-8pm) Boxing (6-8pm)

Boxing ( 6-8pm)

6.45pm

Wednesday

Athletics Distance (6pm)

Athletics Sprint (6.30pm)

Athletics Sprint (6.30pm)

M.Rugby Weights (6.30-8pm)

M.Rugby Weights (6-8.30pm)

Ladies Football (6.30 - 8pm)

Athletics Circuits (7-8.15pm)

Rugby - Ladies (7.30-9pm)

Athletics Circuits (7-8.15pm)

Fresher Football (7pm - 8.15pm)

Rugby - Mens (7pm)

Fresher Football (7pm - 8.15pm)

Rugby - Mens (7pm)

Rugby - Ladies (7.30-9pm)

Athletics Distance (7pm)

M. Rugby Weights (8-9.30pm)

Mens Soccer (7pm)

Hockey Weights (8-9.30pm)

Bus Returns from Dangan at 6.15pm, 7.15pm, 8.30pm & 9.30pm* Last bus on Thursday departs Dangan Pavilion at 8.30pm.

www.clubs.nuigalway.ie for full club training & events calendar or download the Clubs Eventr App

SPORT 27

March 30 2016

Ladies Soccer Team captain scoops Sports Award At the recent NUI Galway Sports Awards, NUIG Ladies Soccer were presented with the team award thanks to their outstanding achievements this year, while the individual award went to Jennifer Byrne.

Jennifer Byrne arrived on scholarship to NUI Galway in 2011 as a fresh-faced first year medical student. She came with an Irish cap already in her back pocket, having played for her country in the U-17 World Cup. It was a promising sign of things to come.

A tall, athletic player, Jenny’s versatility meant that in the 2011/2012 season she was played in virtually every position for her team, eager to do whatever was necessary to ensure victory for the college club. Her positive attitude and constant determination on the field from the very onset was infectious; her enthusiasm off the field even more so.

Jenny’s belief in her own ability and her encouragement to her teammates around her was clear as she played an important role in her team winning the Premier Plate competition in 2013.

Jenny has never been one to shy away from new challenges. Despite her hectic academic schedule, in the following season she became a vital asset to the newly formed local Galway Women’s FC team when she began playing in the Women’s National League of Ireland. She was also given the responsibility of captaincy of the college team at this time.

2014 meant another Premier Plate final victory for NUIG Ladies Soccer and captain Jenny was again awarded player of the match in the final.

In 2015 she received a welldeserved call up to play for the Irish Universities team. Indeed, in the Summer of 2015 she stood out as the sole NUI Galway representative,

playing centre-back for her country at the World Student Games in South Korea. She has always lived up to the high expectations set for her by the club and yet again she did not falter.

In 2016, the ladies soccer team was claimed Irish Premier Division winners. This final game was just another example of the passion and tenacity Jenny shows in every match, regardless of whether she is playing with a maroon or green jersey on her back.

The Carlow IT team consisted of four experienced Irish senior internationals, yet on that field it was NUIG captain Jennifer Byrne that stood out when leaders were needed.

Having never missed a penalty in all of her five years playing for the college, the final deciding penalty was fittingly left to Jenny to take. She certainly did not miss this opportunity, making history as the captain of the first ever NUIG ladies team to capture the Irish Premier title.

NUIG ladies crowned Irish champions The NUI Galway ladies soccer team were claimed the Irish Premier Division winners recently with the underdogs coming out on top over a formidable IT Carlow side. This victory for the women from the West meant that they made history, becoming the first ever team to capture the Colleges Premier League title for their university.

The game took place along with the first division cup and plate finals in the sports grounds of UL, and the large crowd which travelled could not have anticipated the incredible spectacle of a game which unfolded.

The Galway team dominated the first quarter of the game with exchange student Kara Shue causing havoc with her pace up front.

Indeed, it was through Shue that NUIG took the lead with a superb shot into the top right corner.

When the NUI team failed to clear the ball from a corner soon after, Senior Irish international Claire O’ Riordan brought Carlow back into the game, reacting quickest to scramble the ball home.

Defender Aoife Walsh took a knock to the head and her absence on the field meant Galway was down to 10 players for a noticeable period. It was during this time that O’Riordan latched onto a through ball and neatly finished to the back of the net to make it 2-1 before halftime.

Things were to get worse for the NUIG side when, minutes into the second half, O’Riordan struck again to complete her hat trick and put Carlow in full control of the game.

However, the Galway women never dropped their heads and showed a strong sense of belief in their ability all through. In a quick five-minute turnaround, Lisa Casserly pulled one back on the 70th minute mark, before captain Jennifer Byrne, who dominated the midfield throughout the entire game, headed home to make it 3-3.

IT Carlow were clearly rattled and it was NUI Galway that looked more like pushing on in extra time.

However, a winning goal eluded both teams and penalties were needed to decide the outcome following an incredibly competitive 120 minutes of quality football.

Shauna Fox, Paula McGrory and Lisa Casserly all converted their penalties for NUIG, but it was keeper Louise Creaven who stole the show, producing two top saves from well-struck Carlow penalties.

Following Creaven’s heroics, it was fittingly left to captain, Jenny

Byrne, to take the deciding penalty.

She unnervingly smashed the ball home to end a dramatic shoot-out and give the historic victory to the team in maroon. The bond between the Galway players was evident among not only the 11 that started, but more importantly the panel of over 30 that travelled and ecstatically invaded the field moments later.

Huge congratulations are due to the dedicated management team and hugely committed players, whose talent and belief shone through in this heated contest.

Squad: Louise Creaven, Aoife Walsh, Eimear Foley, Kara Shue, Laura Carroll, Rosa Shine, Shauna Fox(Man of the Match), Ciara Lynagh, Maebh Coleman, Ella McMackin, Lisa Casserley, Jenny Byrne(Captain), Paula McGrory, Michelle Doherty, Bridget Westermann, Tori D’Acunto, Alison McGonagle, Sarah Peters, Jillian Zittoli, Emma Horgan.

There may be an ongoing pun between the captain and her teammates that Jenny ‘B’ will always bring her ‘A’ game, but there is truth to their humor. Jennifer Byrne has led by example and has never let her team, squad

or club down once in her five years since arriving in NUIG. She has always done the university proud both on and off the field and will be greatly missed in both regards by all of her friends and mentors at the club.

Success for NUIG in National Basketball Colleges League Finals NUIG 79, GRIFFITH COLLEGE DUBLIN 76 NUIG claimed their first ever National League title at colleges level in a pulsating Men’s Division One final against Griffith College. Griffith were making their first appearance at this level while NUIG were on the wrong end of a half-court buzzer beater against IT Carlow in 2015.

The Galway side started with a mix of National League experience from Moycullen and Titans while Griffith’s starting five all played under Dave Baker with GCD Swords Thunder in this season’s Men’s Premier League.

Griffith’s Kaylim Noel was in rousing form with 31 points before Stephen O’Brien’s back-to-back threes and a huge block from Joe Tummons with gave NUIG a 76-73 lead with two minutes to go. MVP Corey Starkey hit the crucial basket off an inbound play with 35 seconds left but NUIG still had to endure a nervy finish as Griffith had a couple of chances to draw level. It finished 79-76.

GRIFFITH COLLEGE ­DUBLIN: Sergi Guardia 8, Juan Ferrales 17, Mike Garrow 12, Kaylim Noel 31, Alex Dolenko 8.

Substitutes: Abdul Mikael, Pocholo Buenaventura, Wei Haau Pang, Vinny Luz, Adam Lowell, Lorenzo Chessari, Vilius Korotkovas COACH: David Baker ASSISTANT COACH: Michael Goj NUIG: Stephen O’Brien 17, Patrick Lyons 8, Joe Tummons 5, Tomas Mitkus 18, Corey Starkey 29. Substitutes: Rory Gilson 2, Binglen ChenEvan Maher, Sean Candon, Joe Tummons, Charlie Crowley, Kyle Cunningham, Martin McAndrew.

HEAD COACH: Paul O’Brien MANAGER: Jack Costello MVP: Corey Starkey (NUIG)

28 SPORT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

Possible Player of the Year

By David Kane Player of the Year is an award which recognises talent and consistency over a long Premier League season. The award has previously been handed to Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and, most recently, Eden Hazard.

But with the Belgian effectively surrendering his crown in early December, the players racing to be named the best player in English football have reached their final hurdle.

RIYAD MAHREZ – LEICESTER CITY (APPEARANCES: 30 GOALS: 16 ASSISTS: 11)

JAMIE VARDY – LEICESTER CITY (APPEARANCES: 31 GOALS: 19 ASSISTS: 6) Mahrez’s partner in crime, Jamie Vardy, has been clinical in front of goal this season.

Scoring 19 goals and contributing a further 6 assists, the Englishman has been spearheading Leicester City’s rise to the top of the table. Wreaking havoc in stadiums up and down the country, his scoring record led England boss Roy Hodgson to take notice and call him into the national squad. Winning 97 percent of every tackle which he has entered this season demonstrates his work ethic. He defends from the front and presses high up the pitch leading to defensive mistakes which he has capitalised on again and again. With a goal every 143 minutes, Vardy looks set to challenge Harry Kane’s attempt at becoming the Premier League’s top scorer.

With 16 goals and 11 assists so far this season, Riyad Mahrez has been sensational.

The Algerian winger has been nothing short of a god send for Claudio Ranieri’s men this season and it was obvious from the very first game. Relatively unknown to non-Leicester City fans, Mahrez lined out on the right flank in their opening game against Sunderland HARRY KANE – TOTTENHAM where he hit two goals and played a pivotal HOTSPURS (APPEARANCES: role in two more as Leicester began the cam- 31 GOALS: 21 ASSISTS: 1) paign with a win. Cutting in from the right Harry Kane has single-handedly dragged flank onto his favoured left foot has been a Spurs into the race for the Premier League trademarkmary of his which has haunted oppositrophy. With 21 goals to his name, the 22 advert new.pdf 16/02/2016 21:25:31 tion defences week after week. year old has been in fine form and is cur-

rently the top scorer in English football.

He failed to score in his first six games this season, which makes this stat all the more impressive, but has been lethal inside the 18 yard box since opening his account during the 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City.

As a team, Spurs are a formidable group but goals have been hard to come by.

The next best goal scorer is Deli Ali with 7 goals which shows just how important it is for Spurs to keep Kane fit and firing in front of goal.

MESUT OZIL – ARSENAL (APPEARANCES: 28 GOALS: 5 ASSISTS: 18) Mesut Ozil’s form this season has been incredible. Doubted for his work ethic last season, Ozil worked through the summer and has returned considerably more influential.

Sitting behind the striker, the German has laid on 18 assists so far this campaign and cemented his place in the Arsenal set up.

Averaging 84 touches per game, this stat can only be bettered by Aaron Ramsey who has been forced to play much of this season from

the left or in a deep holding midfield role due to the brilliance of the €40 million man. As Arsenal continue the quest for their first Premier League trophy in 13 years, the German ace will be hoping for more from the Gunners’ strike force as he continues to create chances that have failed to be put away.

DIMITRI PAYET – WEST HAM (APPEARANCES: 23 GOALS: 8 ASSISTS: 8) Dimitri Payet linked up with West Ham at the beginning of the season and has instantly become a fan favourite. His quick feet and eye for goal have the London club looking upwards as they unexpectedly occupy a Europa League spot. Scoring 8 goals and contributing 8 assists, the Frenchman was awarded an upgraded 5 year contract by West Ham midway through this season as recognition of his form. Ruled out for 3 months due to an ankle injury, his return has heralded a rise in the table for the Hammers as they fight off competition from Manchester United and Southampton for their chance to play in Europe next season.

DRUG USE IN SPORT: Does the crime match the punishment?

By Ryan Mc Guinness Maria Sharapova held a press conference announcing she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open a few weeks ago. The drug in question was Meldonium, used to treat a lack of blood flow to parts of the body.

This incident however is only one in a long line of illegal drug use in both amateur and professional sports. The question remains, is enough done to punish those who don’t play by the rules?

Sure, there are some cases of harsh measures being imposed on athletes. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Canadian Ben Johnson’s 100 metre victory and new world record was taken away from him when he tested positive for anabolic steroids. However, in that very same Olympics, the man who came in second, Carl Lewis, also tested positive for drug use, but this was covered up by the United State Olympic Committee.

Lance Armstrong was punished for his numerous usages of illegal drugs, but only after he had won the Tour de France seven years in a row and had retired. Even Tyson Gay was only given a year ban after testing positive for banned substances, and looks set to compete in the Rio Olympics this year.

It seems the benefits of the crime far outweigh the punishment. Elite athletes can earn tens of millions of euro every year in prize money alone, with millions more coming in sponsorships and endorsements. Unfortunately, bans from illegal substance abuse can be as little as six months to a year which is a small price to pay for financial security and superstardom.

Some organisations take penalising their athletes way too far, however, when compared to sentences they delve out to other athletes for non-drug related infractions. The NFL banned the Cleveland Browns wide-receiver Josh Brown for a year after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, but former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was only given a two game ban for domestic abuse?

Without a correct balance of punishment, how are people expected to respect the NFL’s or any other sports bodies’ rulings on more serious matters? An equal playing field is needed when dealing with illegal drug use, otherwise the trend of the crime outweighing the punishment will continue.

So what is to be done? Athletes in pain will always look for ways to relieve said pain.

Some athletes will resort to cheating in order to win. It has happened for more than a hundred years in sport and it will continue to happen unless strict measures are brought in.

The Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 was the first to follow the introduction of a global anti-doping code. In that Olympics, 23 athletes were found to have taken banned substances, the most ever in an Olympic games.

The World Anti-Doping agency could make countries test their athletes more, but as was the case with Carl Lewis, they can’t always be trusted. In the coming years and as technological advances continue, banned drugs will be harder to locate within a person’s body.

Anti-Doping agencies must adapt to such drugs and, when caught, athletes should be given stricter punishments than their predecessors received.

SPORT 29

March 30 2016

Na Piarsaigh and Ballyboden ascend into Heaven

By Ultan Sherry There were going to be new All Ireland Champions crowned on St. Patrick’s Day, no matter what happened. In that moment, it was Na Piarsaigh of Limerick and Ballyboden St. Enda’s of Dublin who had the sun shining upon them.

The Treatymen were the first to savour success, following a 2-25 to 2-14 win over Ruairi Óg, Cushendall of Antrim at Croke Park.

Led by their county stars Shane Dowling, Kevin Downes and Adrian Breen, the Limerick men exploded like greyhounds from the traps. Breen scored a goal in the opening 30 seconds to settle any nerves. From then

on, until 26 minutes into the match, his troops led by 1-9 to 0-1, effectively killing the game as a contest.

This was doubly ensured just a few minutes later when Downes blasted home Na Piarsaigh’s second goal. At half time, the scoreline was 2-12 to 0-6 in favour of the Munster Champions.

Rather than give up, Cushendall fought on bravely, and their star man Neil McManus flicked home a goal in the 39th minute from a Shane McNaughton free. He finished the day with 1-7 but Na Piarsaigh were never in danger and kept the scoreboard ticking over, even allowing for a Kevin McKeegan goal towards the end.

The final whistle was greeted with elation and a lot of emotion from the

Piarsaigh supporters. It’s the first time that a Limerick team has won the Tommy Moore Cup, a most welcome development for the county’s supporters. It may be a sign of things to come for a county that hasn’t won an All Ireland title in over 40 years.

Then it was the turn of the footballers, and once again a Mayo team was caught like a rabbit in the headlights and were steamrolled down Jones’ Road.

Castlebar Mitchells lost to the Dublin Champions Ballyboden by 2-14 to 0-7 in a match where they simply never turned up.

‘Boden made the perfect start and were 2-3 to 0-0 ahead in the opening 15 minutes, thanks to goals by Colm

Basquel and Andrew Kerin. This was aided by a defensive display akin to a brick wall, and a Man of the Match performance by corner back Bob Dwan.

Basquel’s goal came in the second minute when he took a pass from Stephen O’Connor and shot to the low corner of the net.

This clearly affected Castlebar as they then conceded a penalty in the 15th minute when Tom Cunniffe fouled Aran Watters. Kerin made the Connacht Champions pay that penalty by rifling to the net.

From then on, it was curtains for the team who had previously been beaten by St. Vincent’s in the 2014 final. They did however trail by only eight points at the break

given their poor start, with the scoreline at 2-5 to 0-3.

The Dubliners then struck all the right notes at the start of the second period. They hit the first four points to lead 2-9 to 0-3.

What’s more impressive is that they went nearly the whole second half without Micheal Darragh MacAuley, who went off with a leg injury. Castlebar ran out of ideas and the game petered to an inevitable conclusion, with Ballyboden running out winners by 13 points.

The success undermines the strength of Dublin football at the moment, and who’s to say another team from that county won’t be gracing the Hogan Stand in September again?

PACQUIAO VS BRADLEY: The third and final showdown

By Ryan Mc Guinness After the humiliating defeat at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jnr last year, Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquaio looks to go out on a high against Timothy Bradley Jnr, a man he has both won and lost against in the past. With Manny announcing that this fight will be his last, even though many doubt the claim, Bradley looks to ruin the retirement party for the Filipino.

Despite his loss to Mayweather, Pacquaio comes into the fight with an impressive record of 57 wins, six losses and two draws. A loss of speed over the last few years and a recently surgical-

ly-repaired shoulder that is untested could hinder his chances come fight night however.

At aged 37, Pacquiao is far from the electrifying fighter who knocked out Ricky Hatton in the second round in 2009, or the man who dominated Oscar De Le Hoya in 2008, resulting in De Le Hoyas retirement. Nevertheless, Pacquiao’s coach Freddie Roach believes that the boxer wishes to end his career with a knockout, giving a prediction of KO in round nine.

Going on previous bouts between the pair however, this prediction doesn’t seem realistic. Both men held their own in the first encounter, with

Bradley controversially winning out by a split decision. The second encounter in 2014 however resulted in a unanimous decision win for Pacquiao, where he did indeed out class Bradley, but never looked like knocking out the American.

Timothy Bradley Jnr enters this fight having recently defeated Brandon Rios in an impressive 9th round TKO victory. The 32 year-old orthodox fighter trained by Teddy Atlas has an outstanding record of 33 wins, one loss and one draw.

He has a bruising style, uses angles effectively and controls distance very well, but he seems to lack knockout

power, resulting in only 13 KOs in his professional career. Bradley is a motivated, hungry top 10 pound-for-pound fighter in his prime who would like nothing more than to take over as the king of the welterweight division once Pacquiao retires.

Bradley has Pacquiao beat in both height and reach, but that didn’t seem to matter the last two contests. The fight comes down to Pacman’s ability to use his speed and quickness to keep Bradley from cornering him off. Pacquiao is favoured to win against Bradley in their third fight based on their first two bouts.

Boxing fans and analysts at first questioned Pacquiao‘s decision to

face Bradley instead of Amir Khan or another fighter he hasn’t faced, but Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum defended their decision, insisting that Bradley is a different fighter from what he was two years ago.

Given the history between the two, the most obvious prediction for this fight would be a 12 round technical bout resulting in another unanimous decision for Manny Pacquiao, but seeing as it is Pacquiao’s last fight and the fact that he’s just come from surgery, it could go either way. The fight takes place 9 April in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas but unfortunately the bout will air only HBO pay-per-view.

Gennady Golovkin to defend his titles April 23rd

By Ryan Mc Guinness Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin will defend his unified middleweight title against up-and-comer Dominic Wade on 23 April. The knockout artist from Los Angeles, originally Karaganda Kazakhstan will look to steamroll through Wade in the hopes of creating a super fight with Canelo Alvarez later in the year.

Both men agreed to interim bouts in the meantime as no deal could be made at the start of the year. The fight will take place at the Forum in Inglewood, California, a place where Golovkin has an ever-growing fan base.

Golovkin has an aggressive style and tremendous punching power.

He has magnificent balance, is able to pressure fighters by cutting off the ring superbly and can control his opponents through effective range management. His previous fight last October ended with an eight round TKO victory over David Lemieux.

Golovkin has dominated the middleweight division for many years, but it

could be said that he has yet to fight any big names. Nevertheless, with a dominating record of 34 wins, 31 of the wins coming by way of knockout, Gennady is clearly the favourite going into the fight.

Looking to topple the Kazakhstani’s impressive record is little known boxer Dominic Wade. The Washington D.C. fighter is undefeated in his own right, with a record of 18 wins (12 KOs). His opponents haven’t exactly been high calibre, however, and he has never fought a 12-rounder in his professional career, but he is clearly a competent fighter.

His last fight was a split decision win over Sam Soliman and he showed good spells of boxing prowess throughout. Dominic had a significant amateur career however, racking up almost 200 fights at a young age. This will obviously be the biggest fight of Wade’s career; a fight the challenger doesn’t take lightly.

Speaking to ESPN, Wade said: “I’ve worked hard my entire career to get to this point. I’m poised and ready to take on the challenge. I thank my manager

Jerry Vines, Team Wade and all of my trainers, opponents and supporters for preparing me for this moment.”

Wade never wavered at accepting the fight when it was offered to him which should be commended as, if previous fights with Golovkin are anything to go by, the position of challenger usually ends in defeat.

If this fight goes beyond six rounds, I’d be amazed. Wade does have a significant reach advantage over GGG, but that won’t matter a bit. Golovkins relentless work-ethic and power punches will probably see the fight end within five rounds by knockout.

If Wade even survives six rounds he’s done himself justice. The fight airs on HBO pay-per-view 23 April beginning at 3am, but unless you’re a devout Gennady Golovkin fan, the hours waiting up for the inevitable fight may not be worth the few minutes of domination by Golovkin.

Hopefully after this exhibition both GGG and Alvarez can set a date for a bout later in the year, a potential must see fight for all boxing fans.

A Galway 2020 supporter enjoying the St. Patrick's Day festivities. Photo: Timothée Cognard.

30 SPORT

Sin Vol. 17 Issue 12

OLYMPICS: Five best chances for medals at Rio

By Ryan Mc Guinness The pinnacle of sporting achievement returns this summer. From 5 to 21 August, the world will compete to see who can be called the greatest athlete in their respective sports. As the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro edge ever closer, we look at the five sports and athletes within those sports that may produce Irish success at the games.

BOXING With the loss of head coach Billy Walsh at the end of last year, Irish boxing took a serious hit. Nevertheless, Ireland is still expecting a forceful performance at the games. After a decade of dominance, Katie Taylor remains the best chance at gold. The five time world champion and Bray native has annihilated all comers over the past few years in the 60kg division, and that doesn’t look to change in Rio. After qualifying for Rio at the world championships in Doha, Joe Ward may be set for a medal in the light-heavyweight division. Four years ago Ward looked destined to qualify for the London Games even

though he was only 17, but a shock loss in the last 16 contest of the World championships in Baku put an end to that dream.

Now 22, the Westmeath man has a great chance of going a long way in his respective weight class, with gold not out of his grasp.

Belfast’s Paddy Barnes is the only Irish boxer to win two bronze Olympic medals.

A third medal is perfectly possible but the light-flyweight will look to get more than a bronze this time out. Also looking to add to his Olympic medal collection is Michael Conlan. After winning gold at the 2015 bantamweight world championships in Qatar, expectations for the Belfast fighter to win a medal are well founded.

GOLF For the first time since 1904, golf has become an Olympic sport, which is good news for Irish medal hopes. At the time of writing, world number two Rory McIlroy is out best chance at a medal in golf.

Since announcing his intention to play for Ireland in Rio two years ago, McIlroy has racked up a number of tournament wins, most notably the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, to cement his

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place as one of the world’s best golfers.

Also in the hunt is Offaly’s Shane Lowry.

Even though he is currently ranked 15th, a recent good spell of play that led him to victory at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last year could carry through to August.

On the women’s side of the ball, both Stephanie Meadow (ranked #43) and Leona Maguire (#45) look to qualify for the Olympics. If this is achieved, both accomplished amateur players will look to cause an upset in Rio. Maguire is currently the number one amateur golfer in the world right now and therefore is clearly capable of having dominating performances, and Stephanie Meadow finished third at the US Women’s open championship in 2014 during her rookie year as a pro. Similar execution in August could mean medals.

ATHLETICS Ireland has always produced high calibre performers in athletics and the hopefuls going to Rio are no different. Rob Heffernan, who was recently upgraded from fourth to third in the 50km race that took place in the 2012 London games due to a doping scandal within Russian athletics, will look to add to his newly acquired Olympic bronze. Heffernan won his first world championship in 2013 and this will be his fifth (and most likely final) time competing in the games. At aged 38, he still remains our best chance at success.

800 metre runner Mark English has been building towards August over the past few years, with a bronze in the European Championships in Zurich and silver in Prague in 2015. He may not be up to speed with the best 800 metre runners yet, but English still remains our best chance of getting a medal on the track. Thomas Barr, a 400 metre hurdler from Waterford, also has an outside chance, currently ranked 12th according to All-Athletics.com.

In 2015 he won the 28th World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in a brilliant time of 48.78 seconds and he will look to continue this form come August.

Another outsider’s chance comes with the UCD student Ciara Mageean. A heel injury set her back in the past but now the Portaferry resident has made huge strides to qualify for Rioin the 1500 metre event.

EQUESTRIAN Last year, the controversy surrounding the Irish showjumpers in Aachen proved costly for Irish representation in the 2016 Olympics. During the European Championships, an arena worker ran in front of Cian O’Connor’s horse ‘Good Luck’, and jumped into a nearby flowerbed, in the middle of his run. This affected O’Connor’s concentration and caused him to make four faults which resulted in the show jumping team just missing out on qualification.

Bertram Allen however managed to qualify in the individual show jumping event and looks to be Ireland’s best chance at an equestrian medal. Ranked ninth in show jumping at the time of writing and having secured Irelands only show jumping spot, Allen might not travel to Rio as the Olympic spot is awarded to the country rather than any individual rider. Allen will most likely be chosen however as the 20 year old has gone from strength to strength over the last few months and has established himself as a future star.

The Irish Three Day Eventing Team finished 6th in the 2014 World Equestrian Games which secured the team qualification. The riders will be picked closer to the games. In Dressage, where “horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements”, Judy Reynolds qualified a single spot for Ireland. Her chances of medalling are slim but a top 15 performance is not out of the question.

CYCLING In both road and track racing, Ireland have a multitudinous array of talented cyclists.

The qualifications for the road race aren’t until June, with riders Dan Martin, Nicolas Roche and Sam Bennett all likely to contend. All three men could easily achieve medal contention at the games as all have established professional careers.

On the track at the time of writing the only Irish athlete to qualify for the games is Shannon McCurley, an Australian born sprint specialist. She specialises in the Keirin. For those who may not be familiar with the various track events, the Keirin is the race where the riders line up behind a pacer, which is usually a motorbike.

The pacer gradually brings the group up to a high speed and then the cyclists are left to sprint against each other. It’s a high octane race and as a result anything can happen on any given day, giving McCurley a fair chance for a good showing in Rio. Overall it could be an exciting Olympics for cycling.

OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS ANNALISE MURPHY: If you remember

Irish sailing in the London games it was probably because of Annalise Murphy. She narrowly missed out on a medal and will look to remedy that this time around.

TORI PENA: The American born Irish

woman will look to improve on her last games which resulted in a three-and-out in the pole vault competition.

OLIVER DINGLEY: The first Irish diver to

qualify for the Olympics since 1948, Dingley looks to make a splash (sorry, not sorry) in the men’s 3 metre springboard competition.

March 30 2016

NUI GALWAY IN PICTURES

By Timothée Cognard The past fortnight or so has seen numerous events of interest around campus and Galway in general. From PotterSoc to St. Patrick’s Day, to 1916 celebrations, to popular musicians talking mental health at NUI Galway.

We’ve seen it all, and bring you the best shots from the past two weeks in NUI Galway.

FINAL WORD 31

Diary of the

SMOKEY’S PIGEON I’m dreading the summer. Food gets scarce. Company gets scarce.

People get scarce. I have to wander outside and fly to different places in the search for breadcrumbs. And when that happens, I have to fight other pigeons and seagulls and ducks and swans to get what is barely a mouthful of sustenance.

I genuinely believe that students should go to college all year – summer months included. It will prepare you for real life, where you have to get up every morning and go to work for the day. It will also keep me in Smokey’s treats for the summer.

Though, on the plus side, the involuntary dieting, coupled with plenty of exercise to find food, really gets me in good shape for the summer. Beach body, here I come.

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!