12 F E ATU R E S
Mol na Meáin By Eímear Nig Oireachtaigh Do mo cholún deireanach, bhí deis agam labhairt le Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill. Is láithreoir spóirt í ar TG4, agus ba mhúinteoir bunscoile í roimhe sin. Mar sin, cosúil le go leor duine eile, bhí sos aici nuair a tháinig an phaindéim anuraidh. Is é an post is ansa le go leor duine é, agus nuair a chonaic Ní Dhubhghaill go raibh TG4 “ag reáchtáil éisteachtaí le freastal ar chúrsa láithreoireachta”, thapaigh sí a deis! Piocadh í le freastal ar an gcúrsa le seachtar eile, agus tar éis sin bhí sí roghnaithe chun dul ar Cúla4. Tharla sé sin go léir i 2007, agus tá sí fós ann, ceithre bliana déag ina dhiaidh. Cé go raibh sos de dhíth ag beagnach gach duine nuair a thosaigh an dianghlasáil, d’éirigh gach duine braon de tar éis cúpla mí. Bhí Máire Treasa díreach mar an gcéanna. De ghnáth, bheadh sí amuigh gach deireadh seachtaine ag cluiche rugbaí éigin. “Theis tamaill bhraith mé uaim go mór é! Bhí mé an-sásta nuair a tháinig Rugbaí BEO ar ais Mí Lúnasa seo caite.” Cosúil le gach duine eile, d’airigh sí uaithi a gnáthshaol, agus bhí sí in ann cuid den saol sin a fháil ar ais nuair a thosaigh an rugbaí arís. Mar a luaigh mé, ba bhreá le go leor duine an post atá aici, ach céard é an rud is fearr léi faoi? “Is breá liom an éagsúlacht a bhaineann le láithreoireacht; d’fhéadfá a bheith ag déanamh agallaimh le haisteoir lá amháin, nó ag surfáil amuigh ar an bhfarraige agus ansin ar pháirc Rugbaí ag an deireadh seachtaine! Castar go leor daoine éagsúla ort agus is aoibhinn liom an ‘buzz’ de bheith beo ar an aer!”. Tá sé soiléir, agus í ag obair le TG4, go bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar chuid lárnach dá saol. Dúirt sí féin go bhfuil sí “thar a bheith bródúil go bhfuil Gaeilge agam agus gur tógadh sa nGaeltacht mé le Gaeilge.” Maidir leis an rud is fearr léi faoi, bhí an méid seo le rá aici: “Is linne í agus tá sí mar chuid d’oidhreacht mhuintir na tíre seo. Sílim go bhfuil nasc fíor speisialta ag pobal na Gaeilge agus tá ár gcultúr agus ár dteanga tábhachtach dúinn. Ní gá a bheith líofa sa nGaeilge, níor gá gur tógadh le Gaeilge thú, bain úsáid as an mbeagán atá agat agus bí bródúil aisti! Ní bheadh mise tar éis na seansanna ar fad a fuair mé le TG4 a fháil murach go raibh Gaeilge agam. Osclaíonn sí doirse!” Nach bhfuil an ceart aici! Ní bheadh an colún seo agam mura mbeadh an Ghaeilge agam féin.
SIN Vol. 22 Issue 12
First Year Diary By Aine Fogarty Well it seems we’ve reached the end. If I’m being honest I didn’t think I would even make it this far with the diary but I’m grateful I did. When I first started I was worried I would regret it but most of that worry was due to being scared. This experience has been my first with a newspaper and I’m proud and thankful for the experience. It doesn’t feel like it’s been six months since my first entry but now I’m writing my last for you to read and I’m nearing the end of my first year of college. To put it simply, this year has been rough. Experiencing my first year of
college from my kitchen table through a laptop screen has been a struggle more often than not but writing for SIN and developing my confidence as a writer has been a life saver. I’ve enjoyed telling you all my thoughts and my concerns and most of the time just my rants. I’m sure you’ve all got sick of my complaining in these entries but I appreciate you all for giving them a read. The next few weeks will be a rollercoaster for us all and my exam timetable is not looking good so far. The only thing keeping me relatively sane is the knowledge that summer is just around the corner and even though we will be limited with what we can do, a few months col-
lege free will do me, and hopefully you, the world of good. The excitement of summer is a little less exciting with the necessity of a summer job. I’m sending out CVs left and right lately hoping for a reply. I won’t keep boring you with my trials and tribulations any longer. I’m sure you’ve heard enough over the last 11 issues. To end this final diary entry, I want to thank features editor Saoirse Higgins for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to write whatever came to mind. This experience has helped me further my writing and I can’t wait to continue next year with some new articles for you all. I wish you all a stress free and fun filled summer!
Final Year Diary By Tom Molloy Hey all. It’s my final Final Year Diary of a what can only be described as a bizarre academic year. Final exams and assignments are on the horizon, vaccines are imminent, and the sun is shining. Freedom is near. It’s been an absolute pleasure to share my thoughts with you this year and I hope you enjoyed it too. From my point of view, it was a nice distraction from Final Year stress. Although this is the final year of my undergrad, it’s not my final year at NUIG as I’m doing the PME Masters in September so, who knows? I could be back writing here again. They might have a postgrad column or something. At the time of writing, it’s Saoirse’s 21st in a couple of days so I’ve also been distracted trying to think of presents and something to do for the day. It’s incredibly hard to think of something special when you can’t travel abroad
for a weekend or something. I’d tell you what I eventually got her but, as she’s the sub-editor, it would spoil the surprise. Anyway, we’ll make the most of it, lockdown or no lockdown. Speaking of which, the government might announce a roadmap for the re-opening of the country this week. I am not joking when I tell you this, I am dying for a haircut. My hair doesn’t even grow down, it grows out, so it just looks unmanageable. Drastic measures might have to be taken. We might get to have a few pints in a beer garden if we’re very good, according to Micheál. I feel like once a large number of us are vaccinated, a lot of the lockdown tension will ease as cases begin to drop. People will be in better form when they do eventually get their pints and their haircuts. By the time this is published it will be over and done with, but I’ve taken to watching the World Snooker Championship in the background while I
study. I find it so cathartic. Ronnie’s been knocked out so I only assume Judd Trump will get it done. Such an underrated form of entertainment. I used to watch an unhealthy amount of snooker as a child so there’s also that nostalgia factor. Back to the matter at hand, if you had told me this time last year that we would’ve have spent the next year of college completely online, I wouldn’t have believed you. I genuinely thought we’d be back on campus before summer exams. I’ll be honest, I found online learning extremely tough. I just don’t feel engaged because I can’t really learn anything this way. All the signs point to college next year being on campus is some form, so we have to stay positive. Anyway, like I said, It’s been an absolute pleasure doing this column for the last year. I hope to see you on campus in September. Good look with final exams and assignments and enjoy the summer as much as ye can.
Mature Student Diary By Cormac Culkeen Good morning, afternoon, or evening fellow college folk, wherever these words find you. So here we are, last issue for the college year, last diary. I hope that you got through Paddy’s Day relatively unscathed. I tried to guzzle a few beers, carry on like it was a regular St. P’s but the tolerance is well and truly gone. Three to four cans is where the wall lies, so in one small way this bloody pandemic has been good for something. As I write this, we’re all in the middle of our mid – term break. Some of us have heavier workloads then others with numerous essays or projects. In all sincerity, I hope they all go well for you. Real life has been severely truncated and that brings enough pressure without the added woes of time sensitive assignments. Hopefully you’ll all get the results you deserve after putting the work in. So, what else is new? It lifts
the spirit seeing trees and bushes getting greener with each passing day, the first splashes of colour from the first flowers gently peering up through the grass. The course itself, third year in the BA Connect for Creative writing, has shot by. It’s been an absolute blast, the work has been highly enjoyable, and I’ve had the added input and support of a great tutor and classmates. I’ll be sad when it’s over. On another note, I can hear some whoopin’ n’ hollerin’ upstairs. The neighbourhood has been far from quiet these last couple of weeks. Now, I’m not an antisocial grouch (yes you are, my better half says) but constant noise, shouting, slamming doors, the thump of drunken bodies on the floors above, shrieking, breaking bottles, vomiting, chants to summon Belial to this earthly plane, has gotta stop. I’m worldly enough to know and accept the partying at 3a.m., if I was nineteen or twenty I know full well I’d be right in the middle of something similar. On the other hand,
there is a very real likelihood that anybody driving through Terryland will see bodies nailed to the balconies of several apartments, Sicario style. Folks, no matter where you’re living bear in mind that there are other people around you with their own lives and clocks to run by. Flouting regulations simply puts you and your group in danger, or worse, endangers your neighbours. Or has me knocking on your door holding a hammer and nails. Anyway, I’m getting off track a bit. I hope the remaining weeks are good to you all and that the work left doesn’t exert too much pressure. I hope you prevail. To any first years or second years reading this, hang in there. Get yourselves over the line and hopefully this rank bastard of a year will be behind us soon. Thanks for reading, and thanks to Saoirse, Tom and the good folks at SIN for allowing me to witter on. And disregard the stuff about crucifixions. I was just kidding. Or was I?
