Apply to Kieran Murphy at editor@motley.ie with a cover letter, cv and portfolio of work by 5pm Monday the 28th October
This Semester Will be Different
E
veryone’s experience of college is different. For some it’s defined by mad gaff parties, for others it’s a 3 hour commute. However at the end of the day it’s really up to you to make it what you want to be. While in secondary school we had teachers and parents pushing us to do our best but now it’s mostly up to yourself to decide to stop playing FIFA and start your assignment.
Kieran Murphy
The same can be said for getting involved with college life. No one is going to force you to get involved with that Ultimate Frisbee club nor is someone going to force you to get involved with Motley. Part of entering adulthood is realising that you have to motivate yourself to get stuff done so maybe just maybe this week, instead of watching Breaking Bad again from the beginning you could finally head to that society meeting or email that club about training times.
Editor editor@motley.ie
Graphic Designer Luke Crowley-Holland
Arts & Culture Editors Eimear Hurley Ruth Ní Leannacháin
Current Affairs & Sport Editor Dylan White
artsandculture@motley.ie
currentaffairs@motley.ie
Features & Opinion Editors Dean Murray Leah Driscoll
Fashion & Beauty Editor Laurence Keating fashion@motley.ie
Photographers Dominika Wojciechowska Daire Calnan Anuzis Photography
Public Relations Officer Emer Harrington pr@motley.ie
features@motley.ie
Openers Page 3
Sport Page 13
Úna Hennessy bemoans the almost demise of The Bróg, Dominika takes pictures of oh so more stylish people than you around Cork, and Stevie G of Red FM fame tells us what’s hip in Cork music today.
Eoghan Dalton says slán to Trapattoni while Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly talks to Motley about his exciting career.
Current Affairs Page 6 Wannabe sherlock holmes Current Affairs and Sport editor Dylan White gets down to crime around UCC with Garda Ken O’Connell while International Development and Food Policy students talk about their time abroad. As well as this Motley takes a look at how Budget 2014 affects you.
Arts & Culture Page 17 Elaine Malone chats to the insanely tall John Blek about his band’s recent album, Elaine Murphy gives the lowdown on the glitterati of Youtube and editor Kieran Murphy chats to the always energetic Daithí about his blossoming career
Features & Opinion Page 27 Pa Dineen compares parish halls to cork clubs, Greg Gorman shows you how to release the inner lion in job interviews, Ashleigh Hayman talks about accidentally eating squid while in china and in Opinion Ruth Lawlor is back again talking about why society is being too hard on Miley Cyrus.
Fashion Page 33
Cáit Ní Héalaithe talks about how the language is entering the 21st century but yano as ghaeilge.
Our fashion editor Laurence Keating shows you how to get the elusive smokey eye while Lorraine Buckley dishes all on the Versace brand and then it's back to Laurence as he talks to Cork's newest modelling agency Vanity Vague whose models also feature in this month's photo shoot.
Contributors
Special Thanks
Very Special Thanks
Will Mitten, J.P. Grasser, Imelda Hehir, Colum Padraig Duffy, Cliona Murray, Sian Cowman, Ruth O’Mahony, Eoghan Dalton, Barry O’Leary, Kevin Long, Emma McCarthy, Martha Hegarty, Orla Hodnett, Elaine Malone, Elaine Murphy, Greg Gorman, Lousie Clancy, Eva MillettTrimble, Ruth Lawlor, Marita Maloney.
Michael Lehane, John Murphy, Aisling Twomey, Kirby, Annie Hoey, Podge, Gráinne Biddle at Sony Music, Laura Allen at Universal Music, Laura Harte and all the WebPrint staff.
Seán Kelly, Ken O’Connell, Vanity Vague, Daithí, Rhian Dunkley at Trust Management, We Are Scientists, Dr Theresa Reidy, Megan Sarl and Beyoncé for all her encouragement.
Irish Language Page 26
Motley
Vol. VII / Iss. 2 / Oct 2013
Thankfully the Bróg isn’t closing down but to serve as a reminder of why we like it so much, Úna Hennessy shares her would be obituary for the bar. A couple of years ago an Italian student came to visit a friend of mine. It was her first time in Ireland and after some classy pre-drinking in the house we were wondering which of the city’s few late bars to bring her to. Oliver Plunkett Street’s alternative superpub An Bróg instinctively came to mind. “This is the real Cork” I remember saying to her. The Bróg, it turns out, is closing its doors for good, after a final hurrah with the Jazz weekend in two weeks time. A newly refurbished “upmarkety” establishment with a more mature clientele is set to open in the new year. Rumours have circulated; everything from a Mexican restaurant to a Tapas Bar has been suggested as the mystery replacement. A statement from the owners on Facebook expressed the difficulty of the decision and thanked punters and staff for making the pub what it was.
I
t seems like the seasons have just skipped Autumn and it feels like Winter already but there’s no reason why we have to go into heavy coats just yet. Take Sarah [Above] for instance, a stylist around Cork city, she’s decided to forgo a wool jacket for a heavy duty blazer instead that’ll keep her through this nippy weather. The fella [Below} on the other hand is keeping the cold at bay with a thick fleece shirt and casual beanie, and no doubt his impressive beard keeps him going as well. Winter doesn’t mean you have to cover yourself up for 4 months straight, with a few clever outfit choices you can still show your individuality.
STREET STYLE
Dominika Wojciechowska www.fashionphilosophy.net
STREET STYLE
Long Live The Bróg
First opening it’s doors in 1992, the Bróg has become legendary for student nightlife and general mayhem and debauchery. Many a great night I’ve spent dancing like a buffoon amongst the eager young rockers who wedged themselves onto the dance
floor in that smelly, sticky old pub. A real Cork institution will be gone. As ‘Mr.Prodston’ on boards.ie said, “It just feels like the rug has been given a sharp tug.” Another member ‘usersame’ stated that he was “Gutted but I have faith in the gentleman involved.” A “Save the Bróg” Facebook group has quickly accumulated 200+ members, but as Cantillon points out, “I think people are finally realising you have to support something if you want to keep it - it’s too late when it’s gone.” The Bróg has played host to countless DJs and bands over the years including the The Coronas, The Frames and Fight Like Apes as well as supporting smaller local acts. Famous faces that have entered the Bróg’s door include Tommy Tiernan, Vince Vaughn and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Undoubtedly, the Bróg will remain fixed in the memories of people from all over Ireland and further afield for years to come, whether they’ve met the love of their life in the smoking area or puked their guts out after one too many on the bathroom floor.
Uncorked With Stevie G The Pavilion works on both of these levels but I also like the Triskel, The I’m a Dj and radio presenter. I also Opera House and the Roundy, to name produce my own music and am one a few. of three who run the Pavilion bar and What’s your hot tip for gig of the month? venue. Describe what you do?
Who’s your favourite Cork artist at the Stink, Moustache Latte, Saxy Lady Boys and Stone Fox play Pav bar moment? (and why?) monday of the jazz. Four of our finest So many, I’ve got to mention Ian Ring, acts. In November Pharcyde! who is producing some diverse music for a big number of people and who’s What’s your hot tip for non-music phone won’t be stopping ringing related show? anytime soon. Also Brian Deady, Fish- Deep the play is worth seeing. Ray godeep, Stink, Colm K, Eoin Walsh, Scannell did a great job. Okay it’s music Freezerroom and many more. Cork is related but...... very hot right now it’s as exciting as I Release your most looking forward can ever remember. to in the next What was your favourite gig in the last month? 3 months? That Daft I enjoyed Josef Salvat at the Elec- Funk tric Picnic (Body and Soul). In Cork album Azymuth were amazing as were is out Extraloveable. on What’s your favourite new release vinyl. The (local and international) new I love the latest O Emperor single play Brian it a lot on RedFM. Also shouts to a Deady rocking tune from the Shaker Hymn. single is Internationally, Dam Funk & Steve an instant Arrington made an album that is right classic up my street i’m rocking that hard! and it will What’s your favourite venue in Cork? hopefully blow And your favourite pub? minds.
Story, cork? What’s on?
The Big One Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, 25th – 28th October The 35th annual Guinness Jazz Festival has something for everyone. You don’t need to know your Dizzy Gillespie from your Bill Dixon to enjoy headliner acts like Primal Scream and Glen Hansard, but for the jazz aficionado, there will be plenty of sessions around the city. The Gresham Metropole is home of the Jazz Festival, where you can soak in the atmosphere and sample all the kinds of music the festival has to offer in the one spot. Other venues include Triskel Christchurch, The Roundy, the Pavilion, and the River Lee Hotel. See www.guinnessjazzfestival.com for a full programme and music trail.
Monday 21st
Monday 28th
Cassandra
Primal Scream
Granary Theatre, Mardyke Parade, 8pm. €10, €8 conc.
Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, 8pm. €30 seated, €34 standing
Runs until 26th Oct.
Tuesday 22nd The Turn of the Screw
Tuesday 29th Jameson Film Club Fright Fest Cyprus Avenue, Caroline St. 8pm. Free admission
Cork Arts Theatre, Camden Quay, 8pm. €15, €12 conc. Runs from 21st – 26th Oct.
Wednesday 30th
Wednesday 23rd
Burlesque Halloween Party
Verdi’s Nabucco Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, 8pm. €41, €26 conc.
Thursday 24th God is an Astronaut Cyprus Avenue, Caroline St. 9pm. €18.50
Crane Lane, Phoenix St. 8.30pm
Thursday 31st Thursday 31st Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, 8pm. €15
Friday 1st November
Friday 25th
We Banjo 3
Kormac (av show)
Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, 8.30pm. €12 (booking fee may apply)
Cyprus Avenue, Caroline St. 11pm. €10
Saturday 26th Tuxedo Junction The Pavilion, Carey’s Lane, 2pm. Free admission
Sunday 27th Jazz World Music Fusion featuring POD
Saturday 2nd The Importance of Being Earnest Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, 8pm. €26, €36 and €41
Sunday 3rd Royal Wood & Peter Katz Cyprus Avenue, Caroline St. 8pm, €10
Devere Hall, UCC. 3pm. €10
Motley
5
In this special report, Current Affairs & Sport Editor Dylan White talks to Garda/UCC Liaison Ken O’Connell about crime rates around the vicinity of the UCC campus.
C
ork is Ireland’s second largest city and attracts tourists from all around the world every year. It is home to one of Ireland’s oldest institutions of higher education and also the world’s first university to receive and later reaffirm its standing as a Green Flag campus for its on-going Environmental efforts, University College Cork. When we merge recorded crimes in Cork’s urban and rural areas, the county has just the ninth-highest crime rate of 21 Garda regions and notably recorded a decrease across all 14 offence categories in 2012, with crime down 8% overall. Despite these facts, the area around UCC could be expected to feature as a crime blackspot in Cork City. Prior to its recent closure, the Gardaí at Barrack St. Garda Station had been liaising with UCC for many years principally through the Community Policing Unit of Garda John O’ Halloran and Garda/UCC Liaison Ken O’Connell. Both have been involved in many initiatives with the Students’ Union, General Services and University Staff in UCC. According to O’Connell, the link between UCC and An Garda Síochána “originated with the inception of Campus Watch which is a Garda/UCC driven crime prevention initiative similar to Neighbourhood Watch, but serves the needs and issues of the students and staff of the University”. The profile of the relationship has understandably “risen over the years due to the ever increasing population of the UCC student body and the varied impact this has had on both the student population and the surrounding residential areas,” he added. Many critics have tended to sensationalise occurrences of crime amongst students, with most media coverage of crime statistics dwelling on national trends as opposed to incidences of crime at a more local level. O’Connell is receptive of the fact that where large universities exist and large groups of students congregate, problems can arise. However he believes that “the majority of issues wouldn’t really fall into the crime bracket or what would be traditionally recognised as crime”. He explains: “Most complaints or Garda actions stem from issues resulting from alcohol related public disorder. Crime exists in all facets of society but alcohol related incidents are very prevalent in areas that host colleges because of the large numbers of people socialising at the one time, and the behaviour tends to impact more on local residents”. Recent statistics indicate that crime rates have declined each year since 2008 on a national level. The overall reduction of crime in Ireland is surprising as it runs counter to the logic that suggests crime figures would rise in a period of austerity. However, national crime statistics never present a complete picture of the true extent of crime
Garda Ken O’Connell
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Motley Investigates: Crime around UCC
6
Motley
at a more local level. They “offer little or no assistance to local policing plans” as every Garda district is faced with different challenges. “From being on the street Gardaí are all too aware of how austerity affects crime in their local districts. Opportunist theft crimes of iPhones and bags are definitely on the increase, and burglars these days tend to target money or items such as jewellery that can quickly be turned into cash,” O’Connell said. The vicinity of the UCC campus in the past year has been subjected to several incidents of “thefts and indeed burglaries, often occurring during or in the aftermath of house parties where no responsibility is taken for who comes into the accommodation, and failing to secure the property afterwards. The majority of crime is presented as an opportunity to the criminal. Austerity can affect crime in the way it affects the resources that fight crime, while also taking more people out of the workforce and sometimes to a life of crime to make their money. But opportunity is the catalyst for crime to happen. Reducing opportunity significantly reduces crime,” he added. In a survey of 100 people conducted by Motley Magazine, 41% said they had witnessed a criminal offence in the vicinity of UCC in the past year, and 17% said they had been the victim of crime in that one year period. Public order offences and damage to property appear to be of greatest concern to those surveyed. When asked about the variety of crime in the neighbourhoods around UCC, O’Connell said: “I wouldn’t like to scaremonger by saying [one offence or place in particular] is dangerous because that is how such advice is often perceived. Suffice to say Public Order issues are very prevalent in the area, and invariably where people are intoxicated ‘opportunity thefts’ increase. Cork is not a dangerous place by any means, but if you leave yourself open crime can happen”. He went on to say that “there are good and bad apples in every basket. Good use of common sense and attention to personal safety and property safety is usually sufficient in deterring crime. There are no ‘no go’ areas around the campus of UCC, or in Cork City for that matter. Crime can happen anywhere”. Many crimes are not reported due to a number of factors including the perceived non-seriousness of the crime, the financial loss involved and beliefs about whether Gardaí are in a position to do anything about the crime as well as preconceived notions about the likely success of criminal proceedings. Of those surveyed, 60% said they don’t have confidence in the Gardaí’s ability to resolve crime. “We would encourage all victims of crime to report all crimes to An Garda Síochána. Not all crimes are solvable but 100% of unreported crimes are unsolvable,” O’Connell said. With the excessive consumption of alcohol during Freshers Week and Raise and Give (RAG) Week in particular, there is evidently a need for Gardaí to be extra vigilant around the vicinity of the UCC campus. 67% of those surveyed believe Gardaí need to be more vigilant on student nights in the College Road area. O’Connell noted that “no particular group criminally offends more than others. Offences from international students are minimal. First year students often fall foul to the Public Order Act or Drinking in Public bye laws simply because there may not be as well informed of the implications of drinking on the street or being intoxicated in a public place”. The recent launch of three new Garda, UCC and Cork City Council hi-tech, high-definition digital cameras with superb zoom, night vision and 360-degrees rotation capabilities that can pick up activity from a long distance and prompt an immediate Garda response, is part
‘First year students often fall foul to the Public Order Act or Drinking in Public bye laws simply because they may not be as well informed of the implications of drinking on the street or being intoxicated in a public place’
RAG Week. Also students are advised on personal safety and crime prevention during orientation”. Although there may “not necessarily” be any opportunities to further the relationship between UCC and An Garda Síochána in the foreseeable future, O’Connell “would like to see [Cork] City Council take a more active role in helping to police the Street Drinking problem that exists around the campus of UCC”. He added: “I would call for the revenue collected from Street Drinking fines, (which is €75 per offence) to be ring-fenced for dealing specifically with this problem. An increase in fines can both eradicate the problem over time, while also proving to be self-financing”.
of a wider crackdown on anti-social behaviour around Cork’s university quarter. The cameras are located at strategic locations around the College Road area and are connected to the city’s wider bank of some 30 Garda CCTV cameras monitored around the clock by Gardaí based in the control room at Anglesea St. Garda Station. “We started this process as far back as 2001. It was spearheaded by the then Sergeant of Barrack St. Garda Station, Sergeant John Deasy, and the Community Gardaí at Barrack St., in association with the local resident associations and UCC authorities. The different delays that have occurred over the last 12 years were not in the control of those pushing the initiative,” O’Connell said. He also believes the cameras are of “high quality” and “will aid in the detection of crime and incidents of public disorder, while also helping local residents and students alike”. O’Connell added: “The relationship between UCC and An Garda Síochána is strong and cooperative, and as long as this continues it will serve an effective purpose. The UCC/Garda/Residents Forum that has been in existence for the past six years also allows all the interested stakeholders to sit around the meeting table and try to achieve a common goal. The area surrounding the campus is subject to special impact patrols, and this attention is considerably stepped up during Freshers Week and
Motley
7
Budget 2014 Gillian Carver looks at the 2014 budget and how it’ll affect students
M
any students nervously awaited the latest Budget on October 15th 2013 following the drastic cuts and fee increases made in education in recent budgets. While on the surface the budget seems to be better than previous years, it’s really all in the detail how this budget affects all students both present past and future. USI President Joe O’Connor commented on the budget saying“This budget marks a turning point. After four cuts to the maintenance grant in four consecutive budgets, the Government has accepted that struggling students and families can take no more.” This year, the funding of €25 million remains unchanged; this is not necessarily a good thing as it delays the inevitable question of where funding will come to replace this €25 million when it will be taken away in future budgets. Many have called this budget “mean spirited”, graduates who are under 25 and are just finished college are expected to live on €100 per week until they either get a job here in this country or abroad. For some, it will make it impossible to fund day to day living expenses and pay for expenses related to job interviews and job searching. Graduates who are unable to find meaningful employment will see their jobseekers cut to €100 a week until they’re 24, when it’ll then rise to €144. Vulnerable young people who are not yet in third-level education have faced a hit as there is to be a lower dole rate of €100 per week for under-25’s; critics of the government have labelled this a policy of forced emigration. Furthermore, the much-discussed Youth Guarantee has been granted €14 million in the budget, widely regarded as being insufficient to provide work for the 53,800 officially unemployed youths in Ireland. The budget reconfirms that the student contribution charge for third-level institutions will increase by €250 to €2,750 next year and finally up to €3,000 2015 which is the maximum promised. It is reported that in the last nine months the economy itself has created over 30,000 jobs, yes there have been job losses but the fact remains that unemployment rates have been reduced this year too so the changes in the dole are now according to Minister Quinn going to speed up the transition of young people into the workforce or into further training without the dole income there to entice them to stay unemployed. In relation to third level Education, the government continues to encourage the amalgamation of universities, higher education institutes and third level institutions in an effort to reduce wasted resources and improve efficiencies when it comes to funding projects. This will
8
Motley
take time and a lot of cooperation from the third level sector which may result in universities being more economical with the funding they do receive Jim Browne from NUIG highlighted that “Third level has not been given the same level of encouragement as the self employed schemes.” Fundamentally, there is a lot of pressure on the economy to perform and education now needs a long term solution to funding the Education sector is needed and ultimately this can only lead to an increase in dependence on receiving funding from students in the form of some fee or another. This will unfortunately put extra pressures on families and students. Combined with this Ireland depends on its export markets and the world economy has a huge impact on our stability. The current cost cutting budgets and measures that are making Ireland more competitive in the international market are always going to require sacrifices and in this budget the government has predominantly focused on channelling money into the resources that will create the employment opportunities for those out of employment so that Ireland can reduce the dependence on the state and empower the people to take control of their own financial security starting with the youth who will be running the country for many years to come.
The Key Points of Budget 2014:
No increase to income tax rates, USC, or VAT. Excise duty up by 10c per pint of beer / cider, 50c per bottle of wine, and 10c per pack of cigarettes.
No increase in excise duty for fuels, including petrol and diesel Jobseekers allowance will be €100 for 18-24 year olds, €144 for 25 year olds. DIRT tax on savings interest has been increased to 41%
Medical cards will be reviewed, and over 70s income thresholds reduced Maternity benefit reduced to €230 per week for new applicants.
Al Shabaab - A new force in global terrorism? In the aftermath of the recent bloody massacre in Nairobi, David Anthony Coen looks at the emergence of Somalia-based terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
O
n the 21st September 2013, an atrocity was carried out in the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenya. 72 people were killed and over 175 were injured. The group responsible for this act of terror was the Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab, which in Arabic means ‘The Youth’. Al-Shabaab grew out of the youth wing of the Islamic Courts Union which controlled large parts of southern Somalia until 2006. A strict version of Sharia law has been imposed in areas under its control, including the stoning to death of women accused of adultery and amputating the hands of thieves. The attack in Nairobi was a clear response to Kenyan troop’s involvement in Somalia, who accused Al-Shabaab fighters of kidnapping Kenyan tourists. Al-Shabaab terrorists were also responsible for the double suicide bombing in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, which killed 76 people watching the 2010 World Cup final on television. From a worldwide perspective the obvious question that arises from these events is whether or not Al-Shabaab is a new terrorist threat to the West. It is currently banned as a terrorist group by both the United States and the United Kingdom, and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters. This begs the question as to how serious is the threat posed to the world at large? Al-Shabaab has strong links with Al-Qaeda. On February 9th 2012, Al Shabaab’s leader Mukhtar Abu al-Zubair “Godane” announced the terrorist organisation would be joining forces with the world renowned Al-Qaeda through a fifteen minute video message. This association with the most dangerous force in global terrorism is a worrying sign. Together they pledged to walk the path of Jihad and Martyrdom which was drawn by Al-Qaeda’s martyr Osama Bin Laden. Although Al-Qaeda has been repressed by the death of Bin Laden, this still signifies a potent threat to world safety. US officials believe that with Al-Qaeda on the retreat in Afghanistan and Pakistan, its fighters will increasingly take refuge in Somalia. Al-Shabaab makes use of modern technology to convey its ideology and claim responsibility for any of its actions against opposing forces. The twitter account belonging to the Islamist military organisation was twice shut down by the website in the last nine months. As a result, it had to be restored online under a slightly different name. Through this means, the world can interpret the values that motivate Al-Shabaab to act in such a heinous manner as was displayed in Nairobi. The tweets at the time of this attack were as expected; detailing their retaliation against Kenyan involvement in Somalia- ‘fighting the Kenyan kuffar (infidels) inside their own turf’. The organisation even responded to media claims that a British widow of a man involved in the 7/7 bombings had a pivotal role to play in the events. Most importantly, the social media website was used to threaten the Kenyan government to remove their troops from Somalia and by doing so restoring peace to their own nation. The terrorist organisation’s links with Al-Qaeda and their use of media to threaten and bargain indicate that Al-Shabaab may be a force to be reckoned with in future global affairs.
People escape from the Westgate shopping mall However, the most important issue lies with US and British involvement in the attacks, and the idea of Global Jihad. Kenya has claimed that Americans were involved in the Nairobi mall attack and although this has yet to be validated, it is a matter of serious concern for the US government. The obvious worry for the US is that those recruited to Al-Shabaab (those from Somalian-American communities in the US) may return and use their abilities on America. The Somalian president has voiced his concerns over Somalian-American involvement in Al-Shabaab and the organisation as a whole: “They are a threat to the continent of Africa, and the world at large”. The emergence of “Godane” as leader is another worrying development in the evolution of the group. He was, as previously mentioned, behind the merger with Al-Qaeda and has a hardline, international agenda. “Godane” defeated his rival within the group, Sheikh Hassan Dahir
‘Al-Shabaab terrorists were also responsible for the double suicide bombing in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, which killed 76 people watching the 2010 World Cup final on television.’
Aweys, in an internal power struggle. Aweys had prioritised the groups focus on the struggle within Somalia. With his full grip on the organisation, “Godane” seems to have expanded this focus to international affairs. The attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi captured the world’s attention through the extensive media coverage of the incident and also by marking the worst terrorist attack in Kenya since the US embassy bombings by Al-Qaeda in 1998. He has also carried out cross-border raids into Kenya, involving larger amounts of fighters and going deeper into Kenyan territory than previously. Therefore this attack on Nairobi demonstrates a tendency to internationalise Al-Shabaab’s activities. This in turn would satisfy the foreign fighters involved in the organisation who believe in the creating of Global Jihad. While there is still of course a pivotal emphasis on controlling Somalia, perhaps “Godane” and his foreign recruits are now looking towards the bringing of Sharia law to the whole world as a long term target. There is also rumoured British involvement with the “White Widow”: a widow of a London suicide bomber who was thought to be heavily involved in the organisation of the attack on Nairobi. The obvious fear in Britain, or at least the main reason to be cautious, is the return of trained British recruits. Computer memory sticks were recovered from a senior Al-Shabaab operative who was killed, detailing overly ambitious, aspirational plans to attack targets in Britain. Although this would not seem to pose a credible threat, it is yet another reason for Britain to remain alert in the face of Al-Shabaab and its British recruits. The tragedy in Nairobi does not highlight Al-Shabaab as being an immediate and serious threat to world safety. However, it does offer a reason for us to remain watchful of the terrorist organisation’s activities.
Motley
9
UCC Students Tackle Global Issues in the Developing World Every year, 3rd year students of UCC’s International Development and Food Policy degree spend six months in challenging environments around the globe, engaging in activities that help to tackle global issues in some of the world’s poorest regions. The following is a glimpse into some of their experiences.
Malawi’s Smallholder Farmers Face up to Big Issues Colm Padraig Duffy observes the everyday activities of a local Malawian village, taking a look at the efforts put in place in order to overcome the major challenges smallholder farmers face
A
s we speed down a long, dry, and dusty road, I am seated in the bed of the truck along with our extension worker. There are no seats left inside, so I am riding with the luggage. We share a packet of biscuits and some conversation about our studies and Malawi. My new colleague seems eager to learn about Ireland, and what I know about agroforestry, which is a type of agriculture which uses the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock. As we enter the village the young children are captivated by the truck, and run toward it shouting and whooping. There is a moment of stunned silence as the children unexpectedly see a white person riding in the back, but they soon recover themselves and begin chanting ‘masungoo, masungoo!’, which is the local word for white person. They are excited, and so am I. This is my first time in the field in this area of the country and I am keen to see how agroforestry is practiced here. When we get to the centre of the village we are made welcome by the chief and the women of the village. The village is located in the southern region of Malawi, and the region operates a matrilineal style of land tenure meaning that women hold the right to the land. The women of this village are colourful and welcoming. Many of them come to greet us as we set up our focus group. Once the group is set up we begin with some introductions and a short prayer. The discussion then gets under way a little haltingly at first, but the women soon open up. Although I cannot understand all of the words, you can’t help but admire the women’s commitment, passion, and respect for each other. As we take a short break one of the women, a lead farmer, calls us over and brings our group towards the fields. As we progress I begin to see what she is trying to show us. The village has taken well to agroforestry and I quickly find myself surrounded by pigeonpea, an agroforestry shrub, which has been
Rights of the Child, Darjeeling, India
Cliona Murray offers an insight into working with Edith Wilkins Street Children Trust Fund in India.
F
or my placement I chose to work with an Irish NGO, Edith Wilkins Street Children Trust Fund (EWSCTF), in India. This NGO has a good reputation for its primary focus, the implementation and promotion of the rights of the child in and around the Darjeeling area. The organization focuses on child development and children’s rights because they believe they are paramount in the future development of societies, and a critical part of economic growth and improvement. EWSCTF promotes optimum growth in children’s lives, placing emphasis on health, nutrition, early education and social services. My arrival in India was a complete sensory overload. Having been uprooted from home, I now found myself right in the mayhem of unex-
10
Motley
intercropped with maize in an effort to improve the soil. Further on I can see Gliricidia seed banks that the community is using to assist each other in the accumulation of fresh seed. On from this I am shown a communal fuel wood plot used by the village. Some of the biggest challenges that are faced by smallholder farmers in Malawi are soil degradation and deforestation. The women in this village have taken to the training provided by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and have attempted to tackle the problems with patience, determination, and skill. They have done this in two ways; at the individual household level, and at the communal level, giving the sustainability of the project a greater boost. Once we return to our focus group I haul out the ‘token of appreciation’, which today will come in the form of Coca Cola, Fanta and fried breads. Young and old in attendance thank us for our generosity and consume the meager feast. The women of the village have managed to diversify their income by planting mango trees and other fruits. They also harvest the relish that grows on the pigeon pea shrub, increasing the plants usefulness. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to see effective agroforestry practices outside of the research station, and it is etched in my memory. To us observers it is simply sustainable land use in practice. However, to the villagers it is everyday farming, farming that will ensure the best possible produce for those closest to them.
pected events. A million different things immediately ran through my mind. A mixture of beauty and fascination fused together with shock, horror and suffocation – an intense introduction to the madness of life in India. The complexity of India’s core nature portrays the major challenges faced by one of the world’s poorest of societies. Meeting the children within the foundation created an immediate realisation of the organisation’s success. What still amazes me today is how happy the children are with their surroundings. The work of Edith Wilkins is evidently held in high esteem. This was apparent from the beginning of my adventure in the children’s unique range of skills, encouraged by the foundation’s endeavours. The intense but simplistic teaching methods and the close attention paid to the needs of the children are proving to be a major influence in the children’s success. This has created the opportunity for the children to have a future full of potentials and possibilities. Investing in children is not only the right thing to do for their survival and quality of life, but it is also vital for creating and sustaining broad-based economic growth and the essential key to nation building.
The Free Trade Trap Sian Cowman talks about working with the Democracy Centre in Bolivia.
I
n 2000, the Bolivian city of Cochabamba erupted in protests that shut down the entire city for days. Citizens flooded the streets in protest against a massive hike in water prices due to the privatisation of the water system, forced upon the Bolivian government by the World Bank. The people were successful in forcing the Bolivian government to rescind the water contract with US multinational Bechtel. However, Bechtel decided to sue Bolivia for $50 million in lost profits at the World Bank’s trade dispute court, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). An advocacy organisation called the Democracy Centre was able to help citizens plan a campaign to get Bechtel to drop the case. Eventually, Bechtel settled for a token payment of two bolivianos, equivalent to about twenty cents. I decided to do my placement in Cochabamba with the Democracy Centre because I was fascinated by this citizen victory against corporate power. In this case, citizens managed to overcome the set of economic commandments written by the U.S., and the U.S.-dominated lenders, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. However, the victory in Cochabamba is only one positive story amidst a vast number of instances of corporate gain at the expense of civilians. There is often an inherent clash between sustainable development and corporate power. During my time spent in Bolivia, the Democracy Centre produced a report examining the global network of free trade agreements that provide corporations with a means to sue governments for so-called lost profits. This network of free trade agreements has ballooned in the thirteen years since the Bechtel case. In addition, I travelled to the city of Oruro with my co-workers to provide an advocacy workshop for citizens whose lives had been severely impacted from gold mining pollution. The workshop covered the main parts
Mourning the death of the rule of law in Uganda Ruth O’Mahony explores some of the on-going issues in Uganda.
U
ganda’s diverse and eventful capital city Kampala has been a unique experience thus far. I’m based at the Human Rights Centre Uganda, an organisation which concerns itself with the promotion and protection of the
of advocacy strategy and made strides towards coming up with a campaign for justice. Although the Democracy Centre does not concern itself with the promotion of economic development or service provision, their work of strengthening citizens’ capacity to achieve their rights is an important pillar in ‘development’. It is not a just world if citizens do not have a voice.
rights of human rights defenders in Uganda. Uganda suffers from the burden of ineffective governance. It has been particularly disheartening to talk to Kampalans who are so disillusioned with their own government and who cite ‘corruption’ as the cause of their grievances. The air in Kampala is full of the increasing tightening of civil and political space. In the run up to the 2016 Presidential elections, I have witnessed the undermining of the Marriage and Divorce Bill, a media siege in May, and most recently the passing of the dreaded Public Order Management Bill (POMB). POMB, which has been tabled since 2011, was voted in by Parliament in an almost theatrical series of events. It was passed by the house in under two minutes, with many opposition MPs having received order papers for the day’s business which did not include POMB on the agenda. Their low numbers ensured that any views contrary to the passing of POMB were abruptly shouted down. POMB contravenes the Ugandan Constitution and the supreme law of the land, which upholds the freedoms of assembly, speech and declares that any legislation that goes against this should be considered null and void. POMB controversially specifies that police approval must be issued for any “public meeting”. This led to students at Makerere University taking to the streets in protest on 19th August 2013. NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and all those who advocate on behalf of human rights will now have to contend with increasing restrictions in their working environments. In 1986, the incumbent Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni first claimed office and spoke of “the problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power”. Although this still has residence, many here in Kampala will tell you that the Museveni of today is an unrecognisable figure compared to the man who first rose to power all those years ago.
Motley
11
Exodus from Syria As millions pour out of Syria, former Motley editor Aisling Twomey asks who is now responsible for their protection
T
here is no guidebook on how to be a refugee. “Asylum Seeking for Dummies” hasn’t been written and there is no userfriendly, multi-lingual bible of rights provided to you when you flee your country to save your life. Being a refugee is lonely and isolating and at its core, frightening. For those in Syria, as the stories of chemical warfare emerge for international consideration, the truth is that millions of people are under severe threat every single day. Unwilling to risk their lives for a war they did not make, civilians are leaving Syria in thousands every day, leaving everything behind except what they can carry in frantic moments of flight. There are now more than 2 million Syrian refugees who have poured out of the state to neighbouring lands with no certain timetable for return. Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq are sharing the heavy burden of sheltering them. Given the difficult situation in Egypt and the present lack of stability of its political power, is it wise that over 100,000 Syrians temporarily call it home? As Egypt works to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and attempts to re-develop a core system of democratic participation, they are also trying to shelter over 80,000 Syrians. Iraq remains a country notable for its own civilian asylum seekers, gone abroad in their thousands to find peace and new hope, yet today they host over 200,000 Syrian refugees. In Jordan, the Zataari refugee camp was opened in July of 2012 to provide temporary accommodation to fleeing Syrians a year after the civil war began. Just one year later, Zataari houses 144,000 people and is the fourth largest city in Jordan. It should be shocking to consider that Syrian refugees are moving in such large numbers as to entirely change the population demographic of neighbouring states, but that is the reality. 8,000 Syrians fled the country each day in February 2013. From one war torn country to another, Syrians are facing destitution, isolation, malnutrition, violence and death in refugee camps built with the best of intentions to provide sanctuary, but sorely lacking in security, support and provisions. Money and time are precious commodities, and right now, the international humanitarian system simply does not have enough of either. The UNHCR currently operates the largest appeal in history for the Syrian Protection effort. With over $5 billion needed to bolster the support structure, and new details of atrocities in Syria emerging every day, there are questions to be asked as to European responsibility. The United States has pledged over $800 million in aid to Syria, and will permanently resettle 2,000 refugees in America. In Germany, asylum has been granted to 8,000 refugees since 2012 and Sweden
12
Motley
has accepted a further 8,000 thus far. But when 3,000 asylum seekers, mostly women and children, flood into Kurdistan every day across a long dirt road in the baking heat, why is Europe not doing more? Since 2011, 20,000 Syrian refugees have had the misfortune to land in Greece, a significant port of entry for refugees into the European Union. Greece, a country notorious for its atrocious immigration policy has imprisoned, tried or immediately deported numerous refugees. In the past few months, it is estimated that over 2,000 Syrians were detained in Greece. The reality is that the Syrian crisis is the first test of the recently lauded Common Asylum System, updated during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Syrian test, if we are to call it that, has so far only shown that the European asylum system remains defunct, ineffective and unjust. Sweden alone has made strong statements in favour of the abandoned Syrians; they have agreed to accept all Syrian asylum seekers arriving to their borders
‘Today, Europe hosts around 30 000 Syrian refugees - a pitifully small number compared to the 2 000 000 now seeking protection.’
seeking protection. In early 2013, Ireland announced a €5 million pledge of aid to Syria, which has since been bolstered by the promise of a further €1.65 million. But with such staggering numbers of asylum seekers struggling to survive, Ireland has promised to accept a mere handful for permanent resettlement- originally, the figure was 30, though Ireland has now accepted roughly 50. That’s fifty people out of over two million; mere millionths of a percentage. It is a number so small that it is practically negligible. Throughout history, Europe has seen its crises and gratefully accepted the help of others after World War II, the horror of the Holocaust, or the Yugoslav Wars just twenty years ago. Today, Europe hosts around 30 000 Syrian refugees - a pitifully small number compared to the 2 000 000 now seeking protection. Europe, through poor policy decisions and lack of commitment, is aiding the spread of violence in refugee camps in the Middle East. We are all playing an active role in the destruction of an entire population who are asking for nothing more than safety. Across Europe, immigration is a hot debate topic. Many commentators believe that Europe should protect its borders to cement its own economic recovery. But the harsh reality is that Syrian refugees are not economic migrants - they are victims of a crisis, a war that nobody is winning. Their children have been gassed to death near their homes- and if they escape, they are more likely to be jailed in Europe than welcomed with the freedom they deserve. ‘Asylum Seeking for Dummies’ needs to be written and then read widely by the governments of Europe who are failing abjectly in their responsibilities to a nation of people with nothing left to lose.
SPORT
Arrivederci Trapattoni Eoghan Dalton looks at where it all went wrong for former Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
64 games, 26 victories and three qualifying campaigns later, Giovanni Trapattoni is no longer Republic of Ireland manager. The 74-year old Italian and his assistant Marco Tardelli parted company with the FAI “by mutual consent” last month in the wake of Ireland’s defeat in Austria, which effectively ended any hope of qualifying for the Brazil World Cup next summer. When Trapattoni first landed the job in 2008, the vast majority of Irish supporters were elated; after all, the other main candidate was Paul Jewell, an inexperienced manager on the international stage who opted for a return to the club game instead. Ireland’s first qualifying campaign with Trapattoni at the helm was for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Considering previous failures under Steve Staunton, the team did well; a second place finish in a group including Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia, as well as remaining unbeaten was viewed in a relatively positive light by the Irish faithful. We all know what happened next in the play-off against France, and it’s pointless (not to mention painful) to revisit Thierry Henry’s handball here. However, there were signs in Trapattoni’s team selections and in the way he set up his stall game after game that allowed for a hint of frustration to creep in amongst players, pundits and supporters alike. Ireland’s tally of twelve goals in ten games was disappointing compared to the teams around them, despite almost having a defence as reliable as Italy’s. Trapattoni ’s insistence on a rigid structure led to him using functional players who lacked individuality and that unique quality to unlock the opponents back four. Robotic players such as Glen Whelan and Keith Andrews were preferred to the likes James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and Steven Reid. Debatable team selections continued for the rest of Trapattoni’s reign. The Irish were competent in qualifying for Euro 2012, dispatching teams such as Estonia, Slovakia and Armenia; not necessarily the strongest of teams in Europe’s heartland, but the draw was kind to them. The real problem this time came when we got to Poland. One goal scored, nine against and three out of three losses (need I say embarrassing). The team appeared to lack ideas, with no Plan B or Plan C and deserved each beating. The fans were the only ones to come away with any glory in the end, with UEFA consoling them with an award for their undivided support as renditions of the Fields of Athenry detracted from the team’s lacklustre performances on the field. Trapattoni attempted to alter his tactics for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but to no avail. There has been only one home victory to date, while the only teams that have succumbed to Ireland so far have been Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands (minnows in European football). We can no longer pride ourselves on having stalwarts in defence, with thirteen goals in eight games to date confirming that. Trapattoni ’s rigid tactics weren’t the only reason he fell out of favour in the Irish set-up. His man management style also left a lot to be desired. There’s the aforementioned Steven Reid and Darron Gibson, not to forget Andy Reid, who was banished after leading a sing-song into the late hours at the start of Trapattoni ‘s tenure. Then there’s Kevin Foley, who was assured of a place at Euro 2012 once he proved his fitness. After playing without fault in the final warmup match, Trapattoni suddenly sent him home. Foley refused call ups under Trapattoni ever since. The failure to lure Stephen Ireland back into the national team could also be seen as a taint on his Irish career. Some of the old guards also found themselves harshly discarded. These included Kevin Kilbane and Liam Lawrence; both were players who fitted the manager’s style of play and tended to give dedicated performances. However, the medium of text was deemed suitable for informing both that their services were no longer needed. Goal predator Shane Long’s behaviour w a s
labelled ‘“diotic” by Trapattoni after the forward claimed he was fully fit to play in the goalless draw with Serbia in 2012. It had been reported that Long had suffered a calf injury in training. All of these blunders did nothing to endear Trapattoni to the Irish public. The issue surrounding his excessive wages also left room for debate. Although Trapattoni took a pay cut of around half a million euros (€1.7m to around €1.2m, partly funded by Denis O’Brien) when he extended his contract in 2011, critics alluded to his failure to attend games on a week in week out basis. Promising Irish players went under the radar as Trapattoni remained intent on doing things his way (not necessarily the right way). Prior to Trapattoni ’s dismissal, outspoken RTE pundit Eamon Dunphy said: “Trapattoni does not believe in the players and he does not encourage them to play a passing game. Trapattoni made mistakes, and coaches shouldn’t make those kinds of mistakes and they
<< Trapattoni may have taken a country of Ireland’s size as far as he could>> certainly should not make them repeatedly. He is clearly damaging players. Trapattoni is similar to Jack Charlton – he is suspect of creativity. The stubborn streak is there. It’s perverse obstinacy and it’s distressing. It is not good for our fans and our players, who are more important than any individual coach”. However, there is also an argument that suggests Trapattoni may have taken a country of Ireland’s size as far as he could. The Italian’s style may have been infuriating, but his system did make us hard to beat. Trapattoni ‘s record of sixteen losses in sixty-four games gave him a win percentage of 40.63%. In a country where we lack a competitive, high quality league as seen in countries such as England, Germany, Italy and Spain, talented prospects are few and far between. A considerable number of players are playing for below par teams in England’s lower divisions, and even the nation’s leading goalscorer Robbie Keane has opted for the bright lights of LA. Whether you view Trapattoni a success or as a failure throughout his time in charge of Ireland that is a matter of choice. One side of the coin suggests he made some poor managerial decisions. The flip side would indicate that Giovanni set himself up for a disastrous Trapattoni waiting to happen.
Trapattoni & Ireland in numbers:
64
Games in charge
Win Ratio
18
41%
Ireland’s highest FIFA ranking under Trap (June 2012)
The number of goals Robbie Kean scored under Trap
6
28
The most goals conceded in a single international (v Germany) and the number of strings on Andy Reid’s guitar
Motley
13
Interview
Are You Hungry Enough?
In an exclusive interview, Current Affairs & Sport Editor Dylan White talks all things cycling with former World Number One Sean Kelly. When we look back at some of Ireland’s greatest ever athletes, a select few names come to mind. Sean Kelly is arguably up there with the best. Kelly was born in 1956 and grew up on a farm at Curraghduff, not far from Carrick-on-Suir in County Waterford, near the border with County Tipperary. Kelly began his illustrious adventure in cycling at the mere age of eight when he first rode his father’s bicycle, “through the crossbar, not big enough to get over the crossbar,” he recollects. Kelly then began to cycle to Crehana National school at the age of ten when he felt safe on the road. The local cycling club, Carrick Wheelers, had begun a recruitment drive looking for youths to participate in races. However, a dispute amongst the committee saw a few members split to form a rival organisation, the Carrick Wheelers Road Club. Kelly decided to get involved and was given a good handicap in his first race. Kelly recalls: “I went off like hell and won the race”. Kelly identified cycling as an escape route from the farm and it got him out of Ireland for the first time too. He gradually progressed through the ranks, representing Ireland at both junior and amateur level. However, Kelly admits that he didn’t know much about the profession when he started out. Unlike cyclists today who have access to a great deal of information online, Kelly didn’t have a lot of experience and didn’t even know much about the Tour de France. In 1975, Kelly along with two Irish and two Scottish riders were invited to participate in a race in South Africa as part of a British team. “We went there and competed under false names, not expecting to get caught out. We were competing down there while Liz Taylor was on her second honeymoon with Burton in a place called Port Elizabeth and there were a lot of British tabloids present,” Kelly said. The team of riders understandably garnered huge interest amongst the British media who wanted to do a cover story on them. However, the riders’ failure to cooperate and talk to the media started to create suspicion. A number of photographs were taken of the riders and sent back to British Cycling who investigated and dealt with the matter from there on. “I got suspended from taking part in the Olympic Games, so I decided to go to France and compete there for a year. That was where my professional contract started off.” Kelly turned professional in 1977, at a time when cycling was dominated by riders from the sport’s European heartland. Although he first made an impression as a fast, fearless and sometimes reckless sprinter, Kelly evolved into one of cycling’s greatest ever all-rounders, succeeding in major international stage races. He went on to win an unprece-
14
Motley
dented number of races, appearing unbeatable in one-day races and classics including Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne– Liège, Giro di Lombardia and Milan–San Remo, earning him the nickname King Kelly. “You need a little bit of luck on your side in order win,”. By the end of 1984, the Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body, had introduced a computerised ranking system and Kelly was officially ranked the undisputed number one rider in the world. However, Kelly is receptive that where there is success there is also failure. Although he won a stage in his first Tour de France in 1978 and finished the race 12 times, he failed to win it out on each occasion. He won his first of four green jerseys in 1982 and finished fourth overall in 1985. Kelly added: “Cycling is a high risk sport. I had a number of big disappoints in my career
where I crashed out of races at times and when you go out of the Tour de France like that they’re disappointing days in one’s career. In bike racing there are a lot of danger points. Any lapse in concentration and you can get caught up in these crashes and the race is over for you. I broke a collarbone in the Tour de France when I did crash out. It’s a two way situation”. Many were surprised by Kelly’s decision to make the transition into co-commentating for international broadcaster Eurosport. “I was a guy of little words in the earlier part of my career. Being brought up on a farm is a much lonelier and quieter place to be. It’s certainly not the same as living in the city where you communicate more with people,” he said. However, Kelly’s success as a professional cyclist sparked huge media interest and as time went on practice made perfect. Kelly added: “When you’re performing at a top level in your sport for many years you get the journalists all the time, so when I retired to go into commentary I was half way there as such. It takes a little bit of time to adjust to commentating and the first number of months in particular was certainly a learning curve”. The issue of doping in cycling has been well documented in recent years, most notably on the back of Lance Armstrong’s admission. Journalists for many years had probed at the issue, however lacked sufficient evidence to back up their allegations. Kelly concedes that it was a “horrible time” for the sport but he is certain that the right strides are being taken to ensure that these “very black days” are well surpassed. Although many critics believe it took far too long to get it up and running, “the governing body have introduced this biological passport where they can detect guys who are taking any performance enhancing products and its catching the guys out, so it is working,” Kelly said. “Cycling has cleaned up and is certainly on the right road,” he added. Doping revelations in cycling has understandably affected the financial sponsorship for the sport. Big brands, with food and soft drink companies in particular didn’t want to get involved in a sport plagued with scandal and controversy. However, Kelly believes that confidence is coming back and sponsorship is getting better. The salaries of the riders have also improved. Kelly said: “Candidates to win a Tour de France are in huge demand. But when you look at the money soccer players are getting compared to bike riders, there’s no comparison at all. Some of the soccer players earn as much as a full profes-
sional team competing in the Tour de France earn in a year”. Although Kelly is not directly involved with Cycling Ireland, the governing body of cycling in Ireland, he is currently the General Manager of the An Post Chain Reaction Team. The team is based in Belgium and riders compete all over Europe. It was known as the Sean Kelly Cycling Academy for a number of years and catered for all levels of riders. However, the emergence of the An Post-Grant Thornton-Sean Kelly Team has resulted in a change in strategy, with emphasis being placed on bringing in riders who are in their early twenties and “taking them to the next level”.
<<I got suspended from taking part in the Olympic Games, so I decided to go to France and compete there for a year. That was where my professional contract started off>> Kelly admits that some young Irish riders today join clubs where nobody has a great deal of experience and compete at levels that are simply not beneficial to their future development. Kelly explains: “Cycling is a sport when you start off young burnout is a big factor. Too much training at a very young age has been a real disaster for a lot of talented and promising guys coming through”. Yet, Kelly feels that some riders are not putting the work in, ultimately failing to realise their true potential. Kelly acknowledges that “in bike racing unless you become real hungry and want to succeed no matter how much talent you have it’s impossible to do it”. Kelly recently published his autobiography Hunger in June 2013 and admits that he had been “hounded” for over ten years to do it but kept putting it off until eventually giving in over two years ago when he decided to run with it. “There were times during those two years that I asked myself why I ever agreed to do this,” Kelly said. “It’s going back a long time so I had to do a great deal of research just to refresh the memory. Things that happened in races suddenly start flashing back to you,” he added. The thinking behind the title reflects back to the idea of up and coming talented riders, reared in the good times of the Celtic Tiger era in Ireland, lacking the hunger to be the best cyclists in the world. “People that are into books say it’s a great read and it’s doing really well. It gives a great insight into a guy that never really dreamt about being a professional, just started off bike racing, enjoyed it and followed on year after year,” Kelly said. With Hunger being a bestseller and has become a must read for cycling fans Kelly still hopes to get “the second bite of the cherry and to try stay on the gravy train as long as possible.”
Motley
15
SPORT
More Than Just A Game Barry O’Leary looks at the enormity of College Sports in America. If you were taking a well-earned lazy day off from college and happened to be flicking through TV channels at home, you might just stumble upon highlights of the weekends College Football or Basketball games in America. While many would cast a doubtful eye as to why channels such as ESPN even give up a slot to these games, it should be noted that these high profiled encounters generate audiences unrivalled across some of the world’s biggest third level institutions. Getting involved in college sport in America is a huge phenomenon amongst students. The governing body of college sports in America and Canada, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), raked in $871.6m in 2012, with a considerable amount coming from the Turner/CBS Sports rights agreement. The Texas Longhorns Athletic Programme headed the list with $163m generated in revenue, which is comfortably bigger than many English Premier League clubs managed to make despite playing to a worldwide audience every week. In this regard, the college sport industry can easily be seen as one of the most profitable businesses across the Atlantic Ocean. However, the NCAA prides itself on being a non-profit association with regards to how it uses money and not on how much revenue is generated. All but 4% of NCAA revenue is believed to be either returned directly to member conferences and institutions or used to support championships and programs that benefit student-athletes. Take College football for example; it might seem strange to people as to why it’s so popular. Less than 3% of college players make the cut as professional NFL players after they complete their education, none of the college stars are paid and all the athletes have full-time college courses to contend with, so sport cannot be their sole focus. Yet, the exhilaration and passion amongst the players fuses together, ensuring that stadiums in colleges such as those in Michigan, Alabama and Ohio State are packed to the rafters for every home game. Americans are notorious for being very boisterous and outspoken in support of their respective teams. The over the top antics and gestures from American fans can be quite condescending, yet humorous even at the worst of times. This unadulterated pride is magnified when it’s your college against a neighbouring state. The performance and result of the big game can dictate the mood of supporters in everyday life for long periods after the game. Perhaps, the logical reason for these capacity crowds stems down to culture and one’s surroundings. All six stadiums with over 100,000 seats are in rel-
16
Motley
atively rural states in America with the country’s largest stadium belonging to University of Michigan. The people of the nearby towns and cities are brought together by college sport and follow their respective teams through the season long campaign. The University of Alabama is a typical example. The town of Tuscaloosa has a population of just over 90,000 people, slightly less than what their stadium hold. Nonetheless, some ticket prices for a big game with Texas A&M traded for over $750. This fan obsession and willingness to pay over the odds for tickets is not an unusual occurrence. A fan of the Clemson Tigers in North Carolina recently boasted to a reporter that he and his friends had camped out for nine days, keeping a rotation policy in order to purchase the best tickets for their game with Georgia. While the tickets could have been bought online the commitment and dedication of these supporters goes to show the extreme lengths and conditions supporters will go to in order to ensure that they can be part of all the action.
<< The Texas Longhorns Athletic Programme headed the list with $163m generated in revenue, which is comfortably bigger than many English Premier League clubs managed to make>> In Ireland, there tends to be a different approach taken to college sports. A number of students participate or follow their college teams, but don’t go all out as our counterparts do in the USA. It is fair to say that the fortunes of UCC’s GAA and Rugby teams in particular garner interest. However, the likelihood of ever reaching the same level of support as seen in America is a very distant proposition indeed. So, why does it seem like there’s a lack of enthusiasm around Leeside when it comes to college sports? It has been suggested that many students are not encouraged enough to participate in college sport in UCC, some feel their qualities are inadequate, a few lack interest and others are simply not aware of what the university has to offer. While the Irish don’t live up to the die hard nature of American college football fans and their belief that their team is the best in the world but for many UCC students, the subtle surprise of stumbling across a game of rugby or soccer down the Mardyke, or the game of hurling you pass on the way to the gym is always worth a watch. There is something in UCC for everyone; it’s just a matter of finding out what it is.
John Blek And The Rats
Elaine Malone chats to darling of the Cork music scene, John Blek of John Blek and The Rats about their latest album.
J
ohn Blek and the Rats are an eclectic six-piece hailing from Cork City. They have gathered quite a following since their genesis two years ago. Speaking to Motley, John Blek explains “A few years back I found myself in the situation of not being in a band for the first time in ages so I set about writing and came up with a name to operate under. After that I got a bunch of my friends together and we went from there. The line-up has changed quite a bit but at this stage it’s been the same for the last 18 months. Think there have been 14 different people through the last few years. Seems strange when I actually counted it up there.” The group have since travelled far and wide bringing their idiosyncratic sound to Ireland the U.K. and Europe. They describe their sound as “a tuneful drunk shouting over a crowded room, only put to music”. And how does the creative process take form? “I write the bones of the song and the band all contribute to flesh it out and make it sound good. It’s team effort really. We all have ideas so sometimes it can get tense but that just part of it. We all have the best interests of the song at heart.” John cites a very diverse range of both literary and musical influences, “the basis of pretty much everything we do is folk music. Neil Young, Willy Nelson and Townes Van Zandt would be big influences and where I would have first started. Ginsberg and Kerouac would be up there as well as more contemporary acts like Phosphorescent, the Low Anthem, Deer Tick and Caitlin Rose.” Despite having an archaic set of inspirations the Rats have a fresh and modern take on the shambling, melancholic nature of folk. Appearing on National television a few months back wasn’t their biggest
career highlight “The TV appearance on the Saturday Show was great for us and a real nice experience but I think overall it was a real triumph getting the album written recorded and released. A real sense of creative satisfaction.” At the forefront of Cork’s vivacious music scene up until recently was Crowley’s on McCurtain street, from once working there John said, ‘“It’s pretty devastating really even apart from losing a job and contact with the genuinely brilliant people that worked there. It’s a shop that I’ve been going to since before I could ever play. The instrument is so important to the process of writing. Certain instruments can inspire certain people and if you can’t go into Crowley’s, be in that environment and handle the guitar then you’re not getting a feel the piece. That shop was a real part of Cork history and without getting overly romantic about it, it was a great support structure and home for musicians.” I asked John about his opinion of the talent and prospects of the city, “It’s good. Some great venues promoting a huge amount of local music. What’s not to like?’ On the music industry itself, “Less money more work. That’s ok with me though. I don’t need to be a rich man just a happy one. Few euro would be nice all the same.” But in the next few years John only sees himself in one place, “Cork biy.”
ARTS & CULTURE
Music Interview
John Blek and the Rats will be at the forefront of Cork Rebel Week, a weeklong celebration of ‘all things Cork’ running from the fourteenth to the twentieth of October. “Happy to be playing the White Horse in Balincollig for Rebel Week on the 17th of October. It’s a real hidden gem of venue! Great room upstairs there.be a really good night. Joe O’Leary from FRED is supporting, there’s going to be a BBQ a DJ loads of booze and best of all we have a return bus running from the city Library to the venue. We have 3 shows left this year, Kilkenny 12th Oct, our last Cork show in the White Horse, then Kilkee on the 18th. After that we head back into the studio to start work on some new recordings. It’s been a crazy few months since we released our album Leave Your Love at the Door back in May so it’s going to be nice to have some time off from travelling.”
*John Blek and The Rats’ Leave Your Love at the Door is available at Plugd Records. See www.JohnBlekandtheRats.com for all future tour dates.
Motley
17
Made for TV
intrigued. Moreover, the humour keeps audiences entertained and each individual’s personality shines throughout. Some might think it’s trash, others might live for the trash Honey Boo Boo and co. produce.
Here Comes The Girls Elaine Murphy looks at the rise of child pageant stars in reality tv Reality TV isn’t a sudden phenomenon, but it’s steadily becoming the topic of everyday conversation. People have become obsessed with such shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras and its spinoff, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Such shows have created hysteria and obsession amongst their viewers. It’s undeniable that some people are obsessed with watching other people’s everyday lives. People want to know what is going on in their strange and crazy worlds. But there is undoubtedly a certain connection that viewers have to such reality shows, and that is ultimately the reason for their popularity. Love them or hate them, they can become an obsession. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo attracts audiences due to its “I don’t care” attitude. Some viewers
‘Honey Boo Boo’ would not have come about if it weren’t for Toddler’s and Tiaras. The obsession surrounding beauty is one of horror for many viewers of this reality show. Girls as young as five are deprived of their childhood and forced to be something they’re not. Audiences are dumbfounded by such images, these young girls being pushed into adulthood and making them believe that beauty matters most. Such horror evoked by the show has produced uproar around the world. Most recently Ryan Tubridy slated the show and the mothers of the stars of the show on The Late Late, voyeurism is ultimately what makes the show compelling. The lack of understanding as to why parents willingly do this to their children is beyond belief, therefore compelling to watch.
_Love them or hate them, they can become an obsession._ might find be inspired by their bravery, others might laugh at their lack of shame. They eat road kill for, God’s sake! However, it’s the continuous positive attitude and light-heartedness that the family maintain which keeps viewers
Anytime TV
Late nights and early deadlines may be curbing your television intake, but every cloud has a silver lining: consolidate your time by picking only Martha Hegarty tells you what TV the creamiest crop of what online TV has to offer. As Netflix offers a free shows your laptop shouldn’t be month of delicious HD viewing upon signing up, there’s no excuse not to indulge_ without
Black Mirror
The Hour
Don’t be daunted by the title, Black Mirror is not aimed at vampire-obsessed tweens, instead it’s one of the smartest, interesting shows around. Its two seasons are comprised of six hour-long episodes in total which reflect the flaws of society back at itself like a – you guessed it – black mirror. Though may sound like heavy stuff on paper, it’s anything but on screen. Thanks to the writing of Charlie Brooker, every episode shines with such crispness, originality and charm that you hardly
No, it’s not that Virginia Wolfe thing, it’s a fastpaced, witty drama set in the 60s focused on the goings-on of a television show called The Hour. Think Mad Men with more wearable clothes and less long, symbolic silences. With an absorbing cast and plotlines that are wrapped up long before you stop caring about them, The Hour spawned an online petition of nearly over 24,000 signatures after it was cancelled after its second season. Humour, pizzazz and fantastically fleshed-out characters, it’s a stylish investigation of the ebb and flow of struggles and triumphs far more than it is just another homage to the oft-cited Swinging Sixties.
Why watch? For the hand-chewingly riveting finale of Season 2 as well as any scene with Ben Whishaw_
notice yourself being sucked into its true meaning until the punchline just before the credits. And how the lines punch. The show remains constantly entertaining while providing something nearer a buffet for thought than just some food. Plus, as each hour is a completely different and unrelated story, it’s easy to dip into at any point if you’re looking for something more like a short film than a 20-minute eye nugget.
For fans of – Sherlock_
Breaking Bad An obvious choice if you’re one of the few people who haven’t been avoiding the internet/TV articles/people in general after the show’s finale in an effort to watch the last few episodes spoiler free. If you’re not one of those, you’re probably one of the people being harassed on a weekly basis to dip a toe into some meth. The fictional meth of Breaking Bad of course! Now that every addictive episode is available online to watch back to back, there’s nothing stopping you snuggling up with Walter White for hours on end without the barrier of ads or week-long waits to discourage a thriving obsession. The show is nothing if not consistently good, with Bryan Cranston as the one who knocks steering forth an excellently character-driven descent into badass badness with the help of a choice cast. Simply check out IMDb’s 25000-people-strong rating of Season 5’s Ozymandias if you’re not convinced.
For fans of – Malcolm in the Middle_
18
Motley
YouTube The Perks of Being a YouTube Sensation _Tanya Burr_
Elaine Murphy looks at some of the most famous and outrageous YouTubers to date If you want to get rich or famous these days, just pick up a camera and get posting on YouTube – that’s where the market for fame and fortune lies. It can be as simple as confessing your love for Britney, or filming a piano playing cat and producing thousands of memes thereafter. Not only are there the innocent people who post obscene and crazy videos, but some people have made a career out of their ordeals, these people are known as YouTubers. YouTubers have it all, receiving greater customizing options for their channel, earning up to $5 for every 1000 views they get for their videos, and making more money every time someone views or subscribes to their channel. Furthermore, YouTubers get 50% of the advertising revenue from advertisements on their videos. Tanya Burr comes to mind as she has gained immense success from her channel. As of September 17th, 2013 she has garnered 1.3m subscribers to her main channel and and receives over 5m views a month, with a combined viewing figure of 70,673,737 for her videos. While some of us ordinary people have to get up and go to work every day, Tanya’s day consists of turning on a camera and applying make-up to herself. It’s that easy! Because of this, she is laughing all the way to the bank, people. It is true that well known YouTubers are offered deals from companies to promote their products. Partners earn extra money, and advertisers get product placement. So basically everybody wins! The YouTubers get free stuff and the companies earn extra cash. Not only are the 19-year-old identical twins Jack and Finn Harries incredibly handsome and witty, they’ve also managed to turn themselves into internet sensations. Initially, Jack made videos by himself way back in 2011 with his channel JacksGap. However, the popularity of JacksGap didn’t increase significantly until he invited his brother Finn to join him. Due to the twins’ chemistry on screen and their undeniable humour, the channel now has more than 700,000 subscribers and more than 30m video views. As a result of such
_Troyve Sivan_
success, the twin’s now receive immense business opportunities that they would not receive otherwise. Troye Sivan is another young YouTuber with great credentials. Currently he has over 850,000 subscribers and over 25,000,000 views. Not only has Troye joined the world of YouTube successfully, but in recent times he has been able to use his fame to great advantage. On August 7th 2013, Troye announced to his followers and the world that he was gay. Troye says at the start of the video how “this is the most nervous I’ve ever been”. He speaks candidly as to how he has kept it secret for so long but no longer cares what others think. Troye has successfully manipulated the world of YouTube in order to bring out a message that is important to him and millions around the world. To date the video has received over 1,500,000 hits. His inspirational words just show how powerful the medium of internet can really be. Moreover people have accidentally been dragged into the depths of fame unknowingly. Such as Sweet Brown and Antoine Dodson, they were just in the right place at the right time in addition to their unique storytelling and personalities. Poor old Sweet Brown was “eating a cold pop” and thought someone was “barbecuing or something”, but then the smoke got to her. She’s got bronchitis and really, “ain’t
_I guess Sweet Brown has plenty of time on her hands now with all the rewards she’s been reaping_ nobody got time for that!” Due to the fire in her apartment block and the subsequent news interview, the video to date has received 44m views and was posted over a year ago. I guess Sweet Brown has plenty of time on her hands now with all the rewards she’s been reaping. Not forgetting Antoine Dodson who publicly stood up for his sister’s right as she was “attacked by some idiot in the Projects”. Let’s face it that idiot was so dumb, for real. What further propelled Dodson to YouTube glory was the subsequent remix of his news interview claiming an unbelievable 117, 766, 622 views to date. As a result of “the rapists up in here” sensation, Dodson has now gone onto pursue a career in rap. There have been countless YouTube sensations over the years and it is extremely difficult to choose from such a high standard. Videos go viral every day and it is a great way for the world to connect and share their opinion, as well as making a bit of cash on the way. From the uncanny truth and sincerity of Troye Sivan to the laugh out loud moments of Antoine Dodson, the internet has many perks and is probably the most powerful medium of getting one’s message publicised today.
Motley
19
Film Probe
of his friend’s survival are 50%. His mother, played by Anjelica Huston, has an even harder time accepting the fact her son has Cancer. Already struggling with a husband who has Alzheimer’s, she tries to control Adam’s situation, only alienating him further with her overbearing attitude.
Pick of Netflix Katie O’Sullivan reviews the poignant 50/50, available on Netflix
His girlfriend Rachel,played by Bryce Dallas Howard, provides a strange mix of support and betrayal in the film. She wants to separate the Adam she likes from the sickly, chemotherapy-needing one she leaves at the hospital: “I don’t want to mix that world with this world,” she tells him. In comparison, one of his fellow Cancer patients receives full support from his wife something Adam envies when he is alone with only his dog, Skeletor, for company. Those around him come and go, but he comes to appreciate the support of some more than others and this is what helps him stay strong when not knowing what the future holds.
3.5/5 Stars While sitting at home and flicking through Netflix for something to watch, a film about cancer may not be on top of your list but 50/50 directed by Jonathan Levine adds a new twist to the well played out drama genre. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, the film charts the changes in this young man’s life as he is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal Cancer at the age of twenty-seven. Set in Seattle, Washington we watch as this radio programme writer attempts to fight the disease which is so prominent across the world today. Adam shuts himself in, he is rigid and set in his ways, perhaps too much; certainly his friend Kyle (Seth Rogan) would think so. Kyle continually encourages Adam to embrace the “advantages” of being ill: the women, the drugs. He is all too willing
to look on the bright side of life and Rogen’s typically crude humour is not always appropriate as Adam’s tale develops. However, a positive attitude can make a difference, even if in this case the odds
The Dark Knight and The Dark Horse Emma McCarthy discusses Ben Affleck’s impending incarnation of Batman This summer, comic book and movie fans were eager to hear one bit of information: who would be cast as the new Batman in the Batman VS Superman sequel to Man of Steel. Names were thrown around like there was no tomorrow, with rumours getting bigger and bigger by the day. First, we heard that Christian Bale had been offered fifty million dollars to don his scowl again, while the next day, there was speculation that none other than Orlando Bloom was being scouted for the role. It wasn’t too long before the actor chosen was revealed and as it turned out, everyone had been waiting for a name that most would rather not have heard. The man who would be wearing the cape this time round would be, Ben Affleck.
Not too long ago, people were lauding Ben Affleck for Argo and bemoaning his lack of a Best Director Oscar but attitudes quickly changed when it was revealed that he would be taking on the role of the Caped Crusader. It seemed people much preferred him behind the camera. I can see why – Affleck bombed in the last superhero movie he starred in (2003’s Daredevil) and before his writing and directing career came back into the spotlight, he was mostly known as the leading man in Hollywood’s worst romantic comedies and as the other half of one of the most infamous celebrity couplings of the early 2000s. Ben Affleck is simply better known as Ben Affleck which makes it hard to buy him as characters. Bruce Wayne is a complex role to play, and with Christian Bale giving such a phenomenal turn as the troubled billionaire orphan, fans don’t even want to give Affleck a chance. In my opinion, it’s a little unfair. I do hear people talking in Affleck’s defence as they point out that no one wanted Heath Ledger
20
Motley
While the film is classed as a comedy drama, I’d be more inclined to have it as a full drama as the screenwriter, Will Reiser, loosely based the film on his own experience with cancer. The plot never tries to be unpredictable or exciting; it is simply another interpretation of a touchy subject, and a film which seeks to shed interesting thoughts on both the negative and the positive responses to Cancer.
as the Joker but it’s often met with replies of “Heath Ledger has nothing to do with Ben Affleck.” And that’s true, but it raises an interesting point: if you can’t compare Ledger and Affleck, how can you compare Daredevil and Batman? Just because Affleck didn’t do well with one doesn’t mean he can’t do well as the other. What people need to remember is that Zack Snyder is not trying to recreate Nolan’s Dark Knight; he’s making a new older and more tired Batman. It’s a process we’re all familiar with, Bale wasn’t the first Batman and Affleck won’t be the last. People complained when
_It wasn’t too long before the actor chosen was revealed and as it turned out, everyone had been waiting for a name that most would rather not have heard_ Michael Keaton was cast as Batman due to his past acting roles, but he pulled it off. Maybe we should give Affleck a chance before blaming him for ruining the character. In all seriousness, if people don’t like Affleck’s portrayal, they’re perfectly free to go back and watch The Dark Knight trilogy again. Batman has seventy-four years behind it, the character cannot be ruined. No one refused to watch Bale’s portrayal because Batman & Robin was so terrible, did they? Do fans refuse to take the character seriously because of Adam West? Ben Affleck might not be the greatest actor, and this might not be a terrific portrayal of Batman, but let’s face it, Ben Affleck is not the worst actor out there and it might not be the worst Batman. After all, what if they had cast Orlando Bloom?
Film Probe Concerning Coppola and her Critics Kevin Long examines the controversy and charm of Sofia Coppola’s films Nepotism in Hollywood is never more scrutinised than in Sofia Coppola’s performance as Mary Corleone in The Godfather, Part Three. Her relatively minor role in her father’s film was universally slated by critics, and left many cynical towards her place in the film industry. Sofia Coppola was undoubtedly aware of the need to discount this scepticism and she accomplished this by deciding to work from the other side of the camera rather than pursue acting. Within nine years of the release of the final Godfather film, Sofia Coppola had written and directed an adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenide’s novel, The Virgin Suicides. The film, which follows the lives of the five Lisbon sisters in 1970s American suburbia, saw the industry sit up and take note of Sofia Coppola as a director. Her handling of The Virgin Suicides was impressive, especially considering it was her debut feature length film. The response to the film was very favourable. Moira McDonald, a critic for the Seattle Times, aptly surmised Coppola’s directing skill in her review of the film: “A disarmingly poetic - and specifically female - vision of adolescence that it belongs in a category of its own”. Despite having The Virgin Suicides under her belt, Coppola still felt the need to prove herself. In 2003, that became realised with the release of Lost in Translation, a film that landed Coppola an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay as well as a Golden Globe for Best Picture. The overwhelming critical appreciation for Lost in Translation cemented Coppola’s place in Hollywood as well as launching its star, Scarlett Johansson, into the A-List. It certainly silenced the vast majority of Coppola’s critics, and anyone who still took offense to her were either steadfast in their prejudices or found her rather dreamlike approach to film jarring. Coppola’s following two films, Marie Antoinette in 2006 and Somewhere in 2010 failed to garner the same appreciation as Lost in Translation, and it was from this point that the critical divide regarding her as a director became more apparent. Ironically, Marie Antoinette is perhaps the most typical Coppola film in terms of theme and filmic style and flair.
_In this sense, she disobeys the convention of characters learning lessons, and this is certainly an issue with her critics_
Her most recent film, The Bling Ring, based itself loosely on the Nancy Jo Sales article in Vanity Fair accounting for the real-life Hollywood Hills burglaries that occurred from 2008 to 2009. Unsurprisingly, it divided opinion upon its release. A main issue for many critics was what they felt to be a lack of moral judgement given towards the actions of the teenagers in the film. After all, these were real events that had happened to real people. Therein lies the problem with Coppola’s critics: their failure to grasp the ambitions of her films. Take Marie Antoinette for example. Sofia Coppola had absolutely no intention of producing a rigid historical account of the life of Marie Antoinette, but rather an insight into the life of a young girl growing up as a foreigner in the eyes of the notorious court at Versailles. Surely, critics weren’t expecting a stuffy period piece from a marketing campaign that heavily alluded to post-punk culture (the soundtrack consists of New Order, The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees). It was very much intended to be frivolous. With regard to The Bling Ring, the same issue crops up. It was blasted by some who felt that it was overwhelmingly shallow and a glamorisation of crime. However, it’s not Coppola’s intention to place her characters within a moral compass, but more to examine the obsession with celebrity culture that permeates the Western world, and the unrelenting desire of today’s youth to become famous. She didn’t set out to make a film scolding those involved in the burglaries, she wanted to capture what’s happening in our own culture today and not being addressed. It’s quite typical of Sofia Coppola to take a more sympathetic tone with regard to her films’ characters and content. In this sense, she disobeys the convention of characters learning lessons, and this is certainly an issue with her critics. With The Bling Ring, as with all her films, Coppola hones in on her protagonists and surveys their human nature and behaviour while providing very little input as to her own opinion. She captures these moments, she doesn’t critique them. That she leaves up to her audience.
*The Bling Ring is available on DVD and Blu-Ray 28/10/2013.
Motley
21
A Bit More Art & A Lot More Culture Bringing Opera to Life in Cork: Orpheus Arts & Culture Editor, Eimear Hurley, reviews Cork Operactic Society’s Orpheus at the Everyman Just over a year after the award-winning Pagliacci, Cork Operatic Society returned to the Everyman Palace stage with the beautiful and poignant Orpheus. The opera takes its story from the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. On the eve of their wedding, Eurydice dies of a snakebite. Orpheus is heartbroken, but the goddess Amore comes and offers him a chance to be reunited with his beloved. Being the greatest singer in the world, he can charm his way to the Elysian Fields and retrieve Eurydice, but under one condition: he must not look at her. If he does, he will lose her forever. But this is opera, and it’s never that simple. Orpheus finds Eurydice, but cannot lead her away without arousing her suspicion. She says: ‘If you love me, you must look at me!’ And he does.
as Amore. Ronald Samm’s performance was full of pathos and torment, and just a hint of madness. Having Eurydice played by a dancer rather than a singer was just one of the several changes made to Gluck’s 1762 opera by director and conductor John O’Brien. The score was re-orchestrated and adapted for actor-musicians, who performed an almost otherworldly feat by delivering the entire score from memory while playing the parts of instrument-wielding gods. Another signifi-
cant change was the ending: in Gluck’s version, Orpheus does indeed look at Eurydice and lose her, but when the gods hear his heart-wrenching aria, ‘Che Faro Senza Euridice?’ they take pity on him once more and bring his beloved back to life. O’Brien’s reimagining of the opera has no such fairytale-like optimism, but instead leaves its main character and its audience faced with the very human question of how one deals with death. As Samm sand the aria, the curtain fell on the set, on the gods, on the presence of Eurydice and the world he inhabited. It left the audience questioning if the whole episode was real or just a dream; an alternative reality created by Orpheus through which he could escape his grief. With Orpheus, Cork Operatic Society has proven once again that opera is far from an alienating art form. It has something for everyone, its messages are universally provocative, and with generous helpings of imagination and talent, it can transport us to another world.
This dynamic production combined music, theatre, and dance to an exceptionally high standard. Lisa Zagone’s set and Michael Hurley’s lighting design captured the confusing terror of the Underworld, the serenity of the Elysian Fields, and the struggle of Orpheus, the anguished artist looking for a way to find beauty in his world again. The chorus members’ singing, acting and dancing was impeccable, as they portrayed grievers at Eurydice’s funeral, Furies in the Underworld, and perfect Elysian souls. Tenor Ronald Samm played the title role, while Eurydice is danced by Tara Brandel, whose wonderful expression despite her silence make this story all the more tragic. Majella Cullagh was commanding and sensitive in her role
Books are my Bag Orla Hodnett With book sales dropping in Ireland by 18% in Ireland in the last twelve months and a significant global decline in book sales, things are not looking so good for bookshops in Ireland. It’s also reported there’s a drop of 33% in the number of bookshops compared with 10 years ago and the earnings of
the book industry in the first six months of this year is down €7 million on 2012. With a much broader drop in the retail sector coupled with inexpensive, readily available e-books, what can be done to save the humble bookshop? In reaction to this troubling blow to the book industry in the UK and Ireland, independent retailers, authors, publishers and agents, with the assistance of advertising firm M&C Saatchi, have launched the Books are my Bag campaign, encouraging readers to return to the local bookshop, and asking them to “vote with their feet” to save the bookshop. Initially launched on the 14th of September,
with events in bookshops across Ireland and the UK, the event is to run initially until Christmas, with hopes to continue the campaign thereafter. The campaign has received the support of a number of high-profile authors, among them Marian Keyes, Neil Gaiman, Irvine Welsh, Cecilia Ahern as well as various other media figures such as Caitlin Moran, Dawn O’ Porter and her husband, our very own Chris O’ Dowd. Bloggers have also enthusiastically backed the campaign, with the promotional Books are my Bag tote bag- which will prove to be a genius marketing move by M&C Saatchi, quickly becoming the ‘it’-bag for bookworms. So, how effective has the campaign been thus far? Just three weeks after the initial launch of the promotion, publishing industry magazine, ‘The Bookseller’ reports that there has been an average 18% sales rise year-on-year. While they do note that academic book-sales resulting from the start of the new university semester have influenced these figures, it’s still a significant rise. While as students, buying books for pleasure can be an extravagance, especially in this current economic climate, do consider spending at your local bookshop when you can. The Books are my Bag campaign is set to continue for the foreseeable future, so keep an eye out for the ‘BAMB’ tote bags and do consider getting involved by patronising the bookshops of Cork. Now I shall leave you with the words of Neil Gaiman, from his novel, American Gods: ‘What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore it knows it’s not fooling a soul.’
22
Motley
Music Review Artist: Haim
Artist: John Newman
Album: Days Are Gone
Album: Tribute
Rating: 4/5
Rating: 3/5
In the past twelve months sisters Alana, Danielle and Este Haim have created one of the biggest musical combustions of recent times. They have played numerous festivals this summer, and have two European tours planned out before summer 2014. And I’m happy to say it’s with good cause, as the anticipated debut Days are Gone is a cracker and doesn’t have an ounce of disappointment for anyone suspicious of the hype. Eleven songs full of slick guitars, tight harmonies, songs for the girls that are not laced in estrogen, with a healthy dash of brass. The album has hit after hit with the singles ‘the Wire’, ‘Don’t Save Me’ and ‘Forever’ but also the other album tracks deliver all your indie goodness, especially with the more eclectic sounding ‘Song 5’. You know how you ease into the winter with the benefit Baileys is more acceptable to drink, well ‘Days are Gone’ and the upcoming tour dates are the musical equivalent. And whilst my need to compare music to alcohol, I would still like you to trust me on giving ‘Days Are Gone’ a spin or seven.
John Newman’s Tribute begins (in absurdist fashion) with a catalogue of influential musicians: an ethereal voice moves forward through time, listing names of the greats (Ray Charles, The Jacksons, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, et. al.). The litany ends with the statement “right now,” and leads directly into the song, as though to apocryphally suggest Newman himself will one day be included on a such a list. While Newman’s Tribute is catchy, and announces its mission from the outset, one can neither absolve nor acquit the two-dimensional project. The contents are equal to the work of a tribute band, not a lauded up-and-comer like Newman. The majority of lyrics (“it’s all for you, it’s all for you / for what you have shown me”; “please don’t stop loving me, loving me / wanting me, wanting me”) resound with all the echoes of a padded wall; their message is both reductive and derivative. The highly stylized blend of orchestral riffs and thudding syncopation reflect a growing trend in electro-pop, though hardly re-imagined or reflective of the canon. To whom Newman’s self-serving tribute is being paid remains entirely unapparent. Look for this dance remix at Coppers in two months’ time. A final caution to the listener: Beware. This will get stuck in your head. (Despite its copious and obvious shortcomings.)
Final Word: You favourite sister act since B*Witched.
Final Word: Paying Homage, Going Broke
Imelda Hehir_
J.P. Grasser_
Artist: Chvrches
Artist: Miley Cyrus
Album: The Bones of What You Believe
Album: Bangerz
Rating: 4/5
Rating: 4/5
The Bones of What You Believe is an exceptional debut from Scottish synthpop band, Chvrches. In a sea tedious indie bands rehashing the garage rock sound from nearly a decade ago, Chvrches summon up the spirit of artists like Tubeway Army and Kate Bush to create a fresh sounding record which wears its influences on its sleeve while maintaining a modern sound. Tracks like ‘The Mother We Share’ ,‘Lungs’ and ‘Gun’ are the highlights of the album which typify the aesthetic of the record. The singer Lauren Mayberry’s voice helps make this album the brilliant debut it is with her unique voice helping to convey the melancholic themes which run throughout the album. To conclude, Chvrches debut album left me with an optimistic feeling for the crop of new young bands. Everyone should listen to this band, you will entranced for the 48 minutes it’ll take to listen to it.
Final Word: Better than mass ever was. Will Mitten_
It’s been 3 long years since Miley Cyrus’s Can’t Be Tamed but does Bangerz live up to the hype? Her first two singles ‘We Can’t Stop’ and ‘Wrecking Ball’ show the two current different sides of the artist, hard pop and updated country and the album throughout is a mélange of the two. Better known for being more country than pop, Miley’s vocals can’t betray her roots but it doesn’t really adapt to some of the more heavily produced tracks. ‘Maybe You’re Right’ could become a classic song if it had been stripped back and focused more on the vocals but its production really only serves to classify it as pop. An unexpected highlight of the album is Miley’s collaboration with Britney Spears on ‘SMS (Bangerz)’ which contains 80s inspired beats and Miley’s vocals are reminiscent of Salt ‘n’ Peppa’s feisty attitude. However blink and you’ll miss Britney’s contribution. ‘My Darlin’ featuring Future is one collaboration that falls flat. Miley’s vocals are on top form in the ballad but Future’s contribution of speaking through a voice changing megaphone doesn’t add to her emotion but changes yours to annoyance.
Final Word: It ain’t a party in the USA Kieran Murphy_
Motley
23
Music Interview
Daithí Just before his sell out gig at Cypress avenue, darling of the Irish music scene Daithí talks to editor Kieran Murphy about fiddles, beats and recording in garages
“It’s
my second time here but it was an all ages gig about 3 years ago so this is my first proper go at it” says Daithí as we stroll around Cypress Avenue as his crew get ready for his gig behind us. Daithí, a 23 year old Clare native, has been bubbling up to the forefront of the Irish music scene for the past 5 years with his eclectic mix of Irish traditional music with house synths. While best known for his two stints on reality tv, Daithí was signed to Sony Music 2 years ago and since then has been crafting his own unique sound with help from Cork’s Ian Young of Wonder. “I’d always had these set beats and stuff and I always had small beats but it only kinda started being proper dance music in the last year and a half. It was about 6 months into making the album and I was saying that I want to get more and more fucking beats and I want to make it more fun to play. And then I started working with Ian and we co-produced a few tracks that we were doing as a kind of of test run and we just clicked really well.” The first track released, which they co-produced was the hypnotic “Chameleon Life” featuring vocals from Raye which Daithí describes as a “as pop a tune as you’d get”. Daithí learned the fiddle at 6 years old but stopped at the age of 13 when he started to view it as a kid’s instrument. Throughout secondary school he was involved with bands playing bass guitar but it wasn’t until he went to Rockwell college that he really learned his craft. “It was like my hibernation period because it’s a boarding school. It was a totally rugby orientated place and I wasn’t into sport at all so myself and 3 other guys just started playing in a band and went underground and did nothing else. As soon as we finished classes we just went straight into a room and play and that’s all we did for 3 years but that’s where I learned how to write music.” After leaving secondary school Daithí started studying TV, Radio and Journalism in Carraroe where he returned to the fiddle “I went back to the fiddle because you can do so much with it, like you can see in a live show like tonight like you can do all the pluck stuff, you can do bold stuff like use a synthesizer and there’s just so much you can do with the one instrument and that’s also when I started getting into loop stations and started being able to record stuff and build soundscapes live without having a band.” It was around then that Daithí entered his first reality tv show, The All Ireland Talent Show where he made it to the finals and he admits that he hadn’t played for anyone live until then. After the All Ireland Talent Show Daithí entered Must Be The Music where he again reached the finals but he confesses that he only entered to try and break into the British market: “You’re not doing a talent show to get a lasting good music career.That’s not what you’re
24
Motley
doing it for. You’re more doing it for the exposure but I ended up playing in Wembley to 10,000 people and as a fucking guy just 18 or 19 years old it was a ridiculous experience” ” But having competed in two reality TV shows is it something that he’d rather forget? “I wouldn’t really hide from it, but it feels like it was ages ago that’s the only thing. It was five years ago and from what I’ve seen from my live shows now, most of of my audience don’t know I was on those tv shows unless someone tells them.” Daithí’s live shows are something of an experience as you watch him create his whole sound on stage, and this little bundle of energy’s hair flicking extends into conversation
“
I think it’s come on and it’s become a full sound and it’s properly created songs opposed to.. a person playing a fiddle, you know what I mean?
as well as he explains “I found through mainly three or four years of trial and error that when I play live people just wanna see you use a fucking fiddle. I try to use the fiddle as much I can iin the live shows.” Rather than seeing Daithí hunched over a laptop screen you’ll be guaranteed to see him fully involved in the show and he works for the crowd . When Daithí left the All Ireland Talent Show he was mostly invited to play at Trad events but soon tried hard to develop his own sound. “I think it’s come on and it’s become a full sound and it’s properly created songs opposed to.. a person playing a fiddle, you know what I mean?” Daithí explains that Ian has really taught him a lot about producing music, as they work together on his debut album, “We just said ‘If we can make a formula that can just work for a pop song we can totally make a few that can work in that way.’ So we made a few set rules- like with a 3 minute pop song you can get into the chorus as quick as you can. That’s how we came across Chameleon Life and that’s what we’ve been doing and it’s being working really well.” “You don’t have to be spending a huge amount in studios anymore. I mean the whole of “Chameleon Life”, and the whole of my record has been produced in a garage in Cork. We recorded some of the vocals in a studio in Dublin, every-
“
I want to get more and more fucking beats and I want to make it more fun to play thing else is done in a garage. Especially with the electronic. You don’t need a fancy studio anymore, you can buy the stuff off the internet and you can get an amazing sounding record. I signed to Sony and they were blown away by that. They’re only realising that you don’t need to rent out a studio for 4 days to get a good pop single. You can just stand in a garage and do it.” Daithí is as electric off stage as he has on stage, thankfully doing more talking than I did while we chatted on two old barstools. While watching him do his sound check for his gig that night in you really can’t help but wonder if there’ll be a venue big enough in Cork to hold him in a year’s time.
Motley
25
IRISH LANGUAGE
Gaeilge: An Aois Nua atá ag Teacht
T
Cáit Ní Héalaithe
á a fhios agam nuair a fheiceann an cuid is mó daoibh an t-alt seo , casfaidh sibh an leathanach. ‘Ugh, Gaeilge’, a dearfaidh sibh. ‘Tá an iomarca iarracht ag baint le sin. Tógfadh sé an iomad ama chun é seo a léamh.’ Is rud brónach e sin ach tá sé fíor. Ón am a tosaímid an bhunscoil tá Gaeilge curtha isteach inár gceann sa stíl mícheart. Bíonn fóclóir míúsáideach agus gramadach casta múinte againn go léir agus tar éis na hocht mbliana sa bhunscoil nítear fós in ann an Ghaeilge a labhairt.
Amhrán na gCupán, nó the ‘Cup Song’, ‘Pompeii’, ‘Can’t hold Us’ agus fiú an t-amhrán conspóideach a bhfuil fós in aigne gach éinne, ‘Blurred Lines’. Muna bhfuil na físeáin seo feicithe agat cheanna féin téigh chuig an
Eíríonn cúrsaí níos measa sa mhéanscoil. Seolann na focail ‘Modh Coinníollach’ agus ‘Peig Sayers’ crith eagla suas ár ndromlaigh. Is rud uafásach é go samhlaíonn daoine na nithe diúltach sin agus a dtaithí diúltach sin leis an nGaeilge. Tá an dearcadh sin seanfhaiseanta agus tá súil agam féin go mbeidh sé imithe sa chéad cúpla bliain eile, toisc go bhfuil i bhfad níos mó bainteach leis an nGaeilge ná sin. An bhfaca éinne acu na físeáin den scoth atá ar siúl ag Coláiste Lurgan le déanamh? I rith an tSamhraidh rinne siad ‘Wake Me Up’ le Avicii agus fuair siad breis is dhá milliún go leith ‘likes’. Ina theannta sin rinne siad singlí cáiliúla eile cosiúil le
ríomhaire/ ipod/guthán/aon gléas teicneolaíochta is cóngairí duit agus féach suas ar YouTube iad. Anois. I ndáiríre. Tá na daoine óga seo ag spreagadh na tire agus an domhain ar fad lena gcuid ceol agus a bhfuinneamh. Sin é todhchaí na Gaeilge.
Is léir go bhfuil daoine gafa leis an idirlíon sa lá atá inniú ann agus gurb é an príomhbhealach chun cumarsáide, gnó, taighde agus feachtais a dhéanamh. Fós, áfach, féachann an-chuid daoine ar an teilifís agus éisteann siad leis an raidio. Mar sin, is féidir le TG4 agus Raidio na Gaeltachta difríocht a dhéanamh maidir le cursaí Gaeilge agus daoine óga. Tá i bhfad níos mó ná Ceol Tíre agus seanscannáin ‘Western’ ar TG4 anois. Craoltar cláir cosúil le Imeall, seó nua-aimseartha a léiríonn físeáin nua agus a phléann ceol, ealaín is dramaí nua. Is iomaí mac léinn a d’oireofaí an clár seo, go háirithe daoine a bhfuil suim acu sa chultúr. Is é an dála céanna é le RnaG. Tá podcraoltaí nó ‘podcasts’ le fail fiú – cé a dúirt gur teanga seanfhaiseanta í an Ghaeilge? Is féidir le héinne geárán a dhéanamh faoin Gaeilge agus an slí a bhfuil sé curtha ós ár gcómhar ach tá an seanscéal sin ag athrú. Táimid sa 21ú haois agus tá an Gaeilge ag bogadh isteach inti go tapaidh. Má rinne tú na sraithphictiúirí don Árdteist agus ceapann tú go bhfuil tú bréan don Ghaeilge, ná éirigh as go foil. Tá athrú tosaithe agus tá an fhreagracht ar daoine óga na tire go léir chun a bheith cinnte go bhfásann ár dteanga álainn dúchais.
Mon-Fri.
To experience this wonderful Italian eatery, book a table now by phoning La Dolce Vita on 021-4840944. Address: Crosses Green, Proby's Quay, Cork City.
Some of our noteworthy food includes the pizzas, which are cooked on a brick oven, the only one of its kind in Cork. At La Dolce Vita, only the best and freshest ingredients are used and all pasta is made on site at the restaurant. The restaurant can cater for large bookings and would be an ideal venue for office Christmas parties. The romantic and friendly atmosphere only adds to the rustic, Italian vibe of La Dolce Vita who offer a variety of excellent Sicilian wines to accompany the wonderful dishes that are prepared by Sicilian chef Paolo Perrone.
Www.LaDolceVitaCork.net
26
Motley
f:LaDolceVitaCork t:@LaDolceVitaCork
FEATURES
The Alternative College Guide A
Started from the bottom now he’s at the top, Pa Dineen talks about why college life is evidently better than than the parish hall back home
A
s a generation that grew up watching movies like Animal House, American Pie and Old School, our perception of college life was understandably shaped. But is college life really all that different to what we see in the movies? Is Hollywood responsible for creating the quest for the ever elusive house party? Or the alpha male “Steve Stiffler” who can pull without fail in Havanas on a Tuesday night, even in his drunken culchie state? What can an innocent 18 year old expect when they head to college?
monitor and dictate their diet for 18 years, from ensuring they get their 5 a day to ensuring they take their omega fish oil vitamins or whatever it is. These people will be the ones eating 14 packets of haribo sweets, a box of after eights and a silage trailer load of Minstrels and Skittles every day. The other type of people are those whom have had no regulation and these will end the year 5 stone heavier, on a first name basis with McDonalds employees and looking like the chubby boy that ate the cake in Matilda.
Firstly, you will meet an abundance of legends that share your love for the “craic”. These people will make up your college family and they will primarily consist of your room-mates. You will spend many a night telling stories about how your local post-man gave you french grinds or how you woke up one morning with your tongue pierced. The scope of the chats can diverge from whether Crash Bandicoot is better than Fifa? to whether it is possible to fry an egg on an iron? The daily self promise of going to the Mardyke to achieve the Jersey Shore abs that would soon leave women weak at the knees is soon thrown out the filthy window when somebody offers to drive to KC’s for your weekly dose.
The Project X house parties are what every host aspires to achieve, however, and unfortunately for the party goers, things aren’t as lawless. The level of excitement is for the most part dictated by various factors, Is there any alcohol saturated man or woman willing to do something socially unexpected/ frowned upon? This act is hindered by the possibility of the security man/ warden/landlord entering the house while this act of social defiance is being performed, the stronger the possibility, the more endearing it is. Upon viewing the immediate aftermath of the session one would be forgiven for assuming that there had been some emaciated badgers scavenging for leftover KC’s (every badgers favourite cuisine). And after a trip to the library to research various eviction laws does not prove fruitful and Mommy and Daddy must pay to get the mattress out of the fridge and to remove the superglued shoes from the ceiling.
Your sleep pattern will alter for the better. Early morning starts are a thing of the past, 1pm becomes breakfast time, and the breakfast menu consists of left over Hillbilly’s or the succulent, mouth watering and cost effective hot chicken roll. The long dreary winter nights of getting Mammy to fill the hot water bottle and dipping your chocolate digestives into your lime coated tea is quickly replaced by nights filled with sing songs, (in which total eclipse of the heart is sang at least 4 times), nights filled with games of Fifa dominated by the Fifa addict (There will be one in every house),and nights filled with drinking games which accelerate the process of intoxication (getting scuttered faster, as if any acceleration was needed).For the majority of freshers Tuesday and Thursday nights are reserved for going out fully clothed and coming home with both shoes but no socks, a shirt which is not yours and a few traffic cones. Yes, college offers nightlife which no rural Kerry pub can offer and sure as hell beats watching the midweek movie with your grandmother and third cousins. There will be a food pandemic, in that, you will rarely be hungry but will always be eating. There are two extremes of people, the first type are those that have had their parents
The nightlife which Cork City has to offer is for the majority of freshers a big change from what they are used to. The nights of going out at 8.30pm wearing an airmax tracksuit, a hoodie and a Burberry cap, getting Daddy to drive you to the local community centre, and getting one of the boys to ask an innocent girl if she’ll “shift you?” while Basshunter sings about regret, is replaced with nights of raving like a mad scone on a dancefloor which does not double up to be an indoor basketball court. The variety of everything is the most notable difference between rural life and the vibrant Cork nightlife. The array of clubs, pubs, chippers and craic is the stuff of fantasies and is appreciated by the entire student body, and rightly so, we worked hard enough to get here and we’re deserve to live the American Pie/Old School lifestyle while we’re young and worry about becoming the next Anne Doyle or the next Ming Flanagan when we get that degree in our hand! Yes, college life is all that we see in the movies and more, and is an experience that will shape our future, an experience that will never be forgotten and an experience which we should make the most of!
Motley
27
An Idiot’s Guide to: Finding a Job On the hunt for a job and looking for tips? Our idiot’s guide to various aspects of life continues this month with Motley’s Greg Gorman providing his fail safe tips to landing a job. Tired of getting nowhere in your job search? Of being a mama’s boy or daddy’s little girl who can neither finance nor fend for themselves? Do you find that your shyness, politeness and lack of personality prevent you from attaining that dream job? Well fear not young warrior, with this guide, you should be able to knock the sheep out of you and become the lion that every business needs. CV - Champion’s Vitae Before you get the interview, it’s essential to create a good first impression with your C.V. Show the employer that you have the confidence of a worshipped teen idol by matching the typing skills of one. Don’t be afraid to fill your C.V with deliberate typos accompanied by bold claims such as “I have lurnt Word Purfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet progroms”. It would be wise to accompany this colossal display of confidence with a picture capable of mimicking the effects of an aphrodisiac. Simply get a photo of yourself, cut the face out and stick it onto the face of a photo of a ripped model like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Irresistible! The Lion is making an entrance!
Cheap and Cheerful: Halloween Costumes On the hunt for this year’s Halloween costume? From princesses to parodies, Eve Millett-Trimble trick or treats us to an idea of what to expect at your upcoming Halloween celebrations. As Halloween season approaches, we prepare for the trick or treating, scaring people, letting fireworks off and lighting bonfires. Students will be looking for the best costumes to wear, everything from the cheapest options to the most popular. Many different options are available ranging from stylish to outrageous. Giving you a run through of some of the quickest to the strangest of outfits, you have come to the right place for some good, unique ideas for your Halloween parties. The Cheapskate The cheapskate wants to save most of their money for beer and find a super outfit for less than ten euro. The perfect place to do this is Penneys, with a fabulous selection of onesies. Women have the option of an elephant onesie, but most will probably prefer the leather look leggings, a crop top and the eyeliner whiskers style of Catwoman. On the other hand, males can go as anything from Batman to an ape. For those really saving the pennies, my advice would be to wrap yourself in a bedsheet and don a bra and call yourself a sexy ghost. The Traditionalist This style is becoming a more and more of a rare sight. However, with all of the local pound shops stocked to the brim with these types of outfits, they would make a perfect last minute option. Anything from the spooky witch with the vile green nose or a simple hat will be sure to do the job. As for the men, a plain
28
Motley
Make Territorial Displays of Dominance Now you’ve got the interview, your next task is to break the mould by making your powerful presence known and felt. Enter the interviewer’s office waving a stick at nearby walls, chairs etc. while making screeching, yelping noises. Force a crippling handshake along with unbroken wide-eye contact. At this point you should be near breaking the interviewer and so finish it off with an arm wrestling challenge. The interviewer should be void of any resistance to your superiority and so this is your opportunity to refuse sitting down. Why would you meet this lowly creature at an equal footing? Stand proud and cast a squinted gaze into the distance to further establish your heroic identity. The Lion is contending! Helping Hand Staring down your prey can be an intoxicating moment, but don’t drop your guard! In desperation, the interviewer may try to shake you off with the gutless defence of asking questions. In response, you should ring your only reference worth contacting - your mother. How do you respond to a question such as “What could you offer to the business?” Get your mom on the phone to tell them what a lovely little soul you are. By getting your mother’s help to answer questions, you display loyalty and willingness to listen- qualities hard to come by in the proud lion. Impersonate Your Favorite Tyrannical Boss Idol Embody and channel your highest ambitions and assume leadership. Let the interviewer know you possess the same prowess and qualities of the fierce Bill Cullen! Grrrr! With a bold and resolute stare, lift your finger and announce “You are fired.” Congratulations, you have now become the boss! The Lion is always head of the pride! While you may have experienced great difficulty in the past getting a job, with this guide to finding a job, and also a guide to life, you should discover the true meaning of command and conquer in the workplace and life. Best of luck! And as you leave, turn the light off in the interviewer’s office – got to save that electricity.
cape and a set of bloody fangs will be bang on trend with the latest series of True Blood. And last but not least… The Attention Seeker This person is sure to cause the most commotion and attract the attention of the entire room. The perfect choices could be anything from Big Bird to Angry Birds. Some might be brave enough to try a hotdog costume. The class clown is sure to be the talking point of the night and get the most laughs. However, I doubt many will be as daring as Lady GaGa and go for a full meat costume… Hopefully this has given you some good costume ideas, from the cheap and cheerful to something really eye-catching for the biggest fancy dress night of the year. If any of these interest you or you want something else, try looking in costume shops or even E-bay for some fantastic ideas and prices. Your choices are endless! What will you choose?
Selfies and Snapchat: The Secret Exhibitionist? Snapchat addicts assemble! Louise Clancy discusses the new worldwide craze and questions if we have reached a selfie overload?
S
ince the conception of social media, there has been a huge phenomenon among young people in particular: selfies. A selfie has been defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken of oneself with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website”. They can either be taken individually or as group selfies. It seems like everywhere you go, people are taking selfies. From concerts to nights out, they feel compelled to document themselves while having the craic in a public bathroom, while you are innocently washing your hands. These days it feels impossible to stay away from these happy snappers! Let me make it clear that selfies are perfectly fine, provided that you do not overdo it. If you have a handful of pictures from nights out or from hanging out with your friends to capture fun times, that is acceptable. However, people will grow tired of your Facebook albums entitled “Random”, mostly set in your bathroom and/or bedroom (pretty much anywhere with a mirror); with the weirdly angled camera, excess makeup and fake tan, inappropriate clothes, duckface and the misused peace sign. These people are known as “Bebo Stunners”. It can get even more annoying when people take selfies for the sole purpose of fishing for compliments. They do this by taking a selfie and uploading it, saying that they are “ugly” in the particular picture, and waiting for people to like the photo and comment on how “pretty” they actually are. It is as bad as headache-inducing text speak, and stupidly cryptic posts about how everything in life has gone horrifically wrong for them. I bet every person reading this knows at least one person who is a born and bred “Bebo Stunner”.
“Approximately 350 million photos are sent on Snapchat every day”
The amount of websites where we can share everything about ourselves in a visual way has increased significantly including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and most recently, Snapchat. For those out of the loop, Snapchat is a social media app available on most smartphone devices, set up in 2011 by Stanford University students as part of their college project. What Snapchat does is allow you to take and send photos to other Snapchat users with optional captioning and/ or ink drawings. The unique selling point of Snapchat is when the recipient views the photo message, it can only be seen for a certain
limit (maximum 10 seconds) before the photo deletes itself. It has been reported that approximately 350 million photos are sent on Snapchat every day. Many photos are used for sharing with your friends including silly looking selfies and other amusing photos. However, Snapchat is quickly gaining a reputation as a sexting app. Of course, explicit selfies occur on many websites, but Snapchat has become the most notorious. Some people choose to send explicit pictures of themselves via Snapchat due to the photo message being temporary, therefore there is no proof of the photos. What some people do not realise is that you can screenshot and save photos from Snapchat. This makes it even riskier if the picture goes viral, which can have huge consequences on your reputation and your career prospects.
“People will grow tired of your Facebook albums entitled “Random”, mostly set in your bathroom and/or bedroom” People have debated over selfies whether they are harmless fun or extreme narcissism. By taking these selfies, are we exposing too much of ourselves online? Are we representing ourselves in a positive or negative light? Most importantly, is this online exhibitionism a complete waste of time? What matters most is that you should not focus too much about how you look, but how you act online. If you think carefully before posting and be yourself in a natural way, it will be self-exhibitionism in the best way possible.
Motley
29
Holy Cow I’m in China Former Motley intern Ashleigh Hayman talks about her experience of studying in China so far
W
henever someone’s telling you about a really great place, they inevitably say some variation of “you just have to experience it for yourself”. It’s the most frustrating thing, as clearly at that present moment you can’t. However when I arrived in Shanghai for the first time, I was engulfed in this indescribable feeling of “oh holy cow, I’m in China”. And I hate to admit it, but it might just be one of those places you have to experience for yourself. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to convey some sense of the euphoric madness that this city has to offer, and some of the experiences one can expect to meet here. One of things that reminds me most of how far I am from home is the reaction I evoke amongst some of the locals. Shanghai is more than three times the size of the entire country of Ireland and is fast becoming a very cosmopolitan city, with East and West happily coinciding everywhere you look. You’ll make dozens of international friends within the first few days and most of the people couldn’t care less that you aren’t of Chinese origin. That said, some people will literally stare at you. I don’t mean a subtle glance or double-check. Oh no. I mean the wide-mouth gawking, take several photos of you while pointing at you kind of stare. It is a bit like being a minor celebrity, so I reckon this is sort of a perk, but you will have new empathy for those ‘stars looking bad’ tabloid photos. The first things to hit you are the potent smells and strange sights, but while you are still adjusting to that, you might notice that you are not alone. In fact there are a hundred other people all going the same way as you; trying to buy the same drink, trying to get on the same subway, trying to read the same sign. As you scramble through the bustling crowds, feeling this buzz of being part of it all, you will at some point encounter a road. There are traffic lights, but I have yet to work out their actual meaning. People, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and animals all seem to play this exciting game of dodge-ball, as they drive through whenever they see a gap. Russian Roulette or organised chaos of which I’m not sure, but I live to tell the tale and it sure does add excitement to your day. There is no point in moving all the way to China and not trying all the things the place has to offer. So while my Chinese had somehow evaporated over the summer, we skipped McDonalds and used a great combination of guesswork and charades to buy food. It doesn’t always work (for instance I ordered what I thought was a pastry, it was in fact an Octopus) – but I can honestly say I have had some of the best meals of my entire life here. Your chopstick skills will just not be able to keep up with speed you want to eat the noodles, springs rolls, dumplings and the hundred other delicious things on the menu. From restaurants to street stalls, a whole hot-pot of different cuisines to choose from and all for about 2 or 3 euro maximum, it doesn’t cost much to experiment until you find your favourites. While the food has been a highlight, it
30
Motley
is definitely not the only treat to look out for. At times the rush and mayhem of the city can prove too much, this is when you should head to the tranquil temples and gardens - the perfect place to take a breather. There are a number right in the middle of the city, so within minutes you can be ushered in behind their closed walls to silently coo at the beauty of a world-celebrated architecture, sit next to pools of Catfish, and just relax in the soothing incense-clung atmosphere. It’s like walking into another time, and having a small piece of peaceful paradise whenever you need it. Perhaps the city’s greatest charm is its great contrast and ability to continually surprise. Skyscrapers sit next to Shanty fruit stalls, designers like Gucci coexist with the fake markets, and the sharp businessmen share the pavement with the crippled beggars. While it is ‘everyone for himself’ as you battle through subway crowds, you can watch the same big crowds of strangers all get together in the streets and park to sing and dance at night. People of all ages and backgrounds come together to grab a karaoke mike or Waltz partner, and just let go and enjoy themselves. It is like a flash mob without all of the organisation or anyone thinking of it as anything out of the ordinary.
“People, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and animals all seem to play this exciting game of dodge-ball, as they drive through whenever they see a gap.”
Plus, if shopping is your thing, there is no end to the bargaining and prizes to be had. The European brands are all relatively the same but browsing the local stores and markets is more like a sport. It’s the biggest game of poker you’ll ever see; if you don’t disclaim interest, throw your hands up in the air and leave the store three or four times, you won’t be offered any of the best prices. Bring your best bluffing skills, and get haggling. So the weather never makes up its mind, the Wi-Fi can be a hassle and they use drop loos not toilet seats, but somehow you wake up 4 weeks later and realise you are having the best time of your life with some of the coolest people you have ever met. It hasn’t even been a month and I am already dreading the day I have to pack up and leave!
Short Story:
the toilets. He drew away from her, looked me blankly in the eye, and darted back in, his bald head cocked to the side as he mauled her. Anything I was capable of doing would surely make less interesting gossip than what I had just witnessed. I edged past him and made my way into the cubicle. I gathered my saliva in the front of my mouth and carefully placed the tablet in. I swallowed. And that was it.
First Time Anonymous ‘First time?’ he asks. I nod. ‘Take half, and wait for it to pop.’ ‘How will I know when it pops?’ I ask naively. His eyes grow dark and wise as he smiles at me. ‘Oh trust me, kid’ he says ‘you’ll know…’ He takes a little plastic bag out of his pocket, and calmly slides it across the table to me—looking the other way as he does so. I react by nervously digging a crumpled twenty spot out of my pocket and handing it to him. He stops before taking it, looks me in the eye and says: ‘don’t freak out, Kid. Just go easy on it... I know you’re in college and all, and you’re smart and whatnot, but just…just go easy on it.’ And that was it. Simples. That was the first time I ever bought Ecstasy.
Then—exactly like I was warned not to do— I freaked out. Thoughts came racing into my mind: ‘Oh fuck! He told me only take half! Or was it two? Jesus Christ that tasted weird! I think it’s caught in my throat!’ I stood in the cubicle for about 20 minutes panicking. It grew too hot in there, so I made my way out to the smoking area, bypassing the faces of my colleagues that appeared like visions through the smog of smoke. I needed water. And fast. Oh shit, was this it? Was this the pop? He said I’d know. He told me go easy. I feel anything but easy. Aw, I’m freaking out. Shit. I don’t feel normal. My legs are numbing. Fuck I’m gonna fall. I’m panicking. And then it popped…and I was fine. A euphoric wave engulfed me. It didn’t weight me down; instead it made me float. I was calm. I edged my way past people, and ordered a glass of coke, the bar man didn’t seem repulsed by me. I downed it. And wiped the sweat from my brow. No one was looking at me like I was a zombie. Had I gotten away with it? My bottom lip started to smart. I couldn’t stop licking it. A girl I work with ran at me and hugged me, and when
I remember when I first started seeing people high on E on college nights out. They were the incongruous ones, the ones who looked like they just didn’t give a shit among the pretentious and the pruned crowd. The ones who were dancing with passion and vigour—oblivious to the disapproving eyes that looked on from the edge of the dance floor. They were the ones that shamelessly barged through a crowd to get to the bar and order a pint of water, their bottom jaws perturbing outward, yearning for it. Sweaty browed and beady eyed they occupied their own little pockets on the dance floor, like they were doused in people-repellent. They were the ones you’d avoid. Yet here I was a matter of months later, strapped for cash, and looking for cheap thrills. Buying it was easy. Deciding when to use it, that was a tad harder. I had a class party coming up, could I pop it then? Nah, it’d be to risky. That’s how you get a bad name for yourself in UCC: one person gets a scoop of gossip and then it spreads like wildfire across the social spectrum. I had two more years left with these people, I didn’t want my name and bad-habits being the topic of conversation in the back benches of the lecture hall. Fresher’s week; various going away piss ups; college and society balls all came and went and I always decided against popping, always for the same reason… I didn’t want to make a show of myself. For about 3 months the tablets sat idly in my coat pocket, still in the little bag, ceaselessly calling to me. But I was too chicken to take the leap. The decision to take them was eventually made out of necessity. My money had run out. And so as I headed out for my staff party I opened my wallet and shoved the tablets into the vacant pocket where all the notes should have been. ‘Jesus, man. You’re still sober?’ That’s what I had to listen to all night. I was waiting for the right time to do it. I watched as my colleagues and managers all got steadily drunker, waiting for the moment when I thought they were too drunk to notice. The moment came, I decided, when I saw my manager— who is married with three kids— scoring some young one that could barely stand outside
“I stood in the cubicle for about 20 minutes panicking. It grew too hot in there, so I made my way out to the smoking area, bypassing the faces of my colleagues that appeared like visions through the smog of smoke”
she saw me licking my lips she just laughed and said ‘Ah, I know what you’ve been up to!’ But I didn’t care. She didn’t care. It wasn’t a big deal, she wasn’t gonna go telling everyone I was a druggy. Had she done it before? Was I the only one here on it? All these question were pushed aside in my mind when the music hit me. After that I resolved to dance. The rest of the night is blurry after that—the best ones always are, though. I woke up hangover free. Tired, but not on a downer. At work, a couple of days later my manager’s antics were the talk of the town; not me and the E. Everyone was saying how shitfaced they were and how much money they blew on that one night—I kept quiet as I didn’t want to brag about how I’d had a great night for less than a fiver. No one was avoiding me or treating me any different. The defining moment, though, came when me and my manager shared an awkward moment in the hallway, he stopped, looked me in the eye and nodded, and in that split second it was all spelled out for me. There are worse things in this world than ecstasy; and few things better than it.
Motley
31
Opinion In defence of..
Miley Cyrus Ruth Lawlor examines the publication reaction to Miley Cyrus’ recent performances and videos In case you haven’t heard by now, Miley Cyrus has ruined her life. Or, at least, that’s what the media has led us to believe. The once good-girl country singer began her campaign to destroy herself when she released the video for ‘We Can’t Stop’, she reinforced it with her bizarre VMA performance, and now it’s finally been realised with the relentless commentary on ‘Wrecking Ball’. What we are witnessing in Miley Cyrus is the clumsy and amateurish blossoming and progression of sexual identity. It’s the rite of passage of all young people, men and women alike, but for some reason becomes more complex and, indeed, more contentious in the case of the female. Because gender roles are more fluid today than they have been in the past, there are no longer set paths upon which men and women must embark. This means that young people are free to construct their identity in a knowing and conscious way – women increasingly have the ability to choose to go to work, for example, or to stay at home. For Cyrus this choice was perhaps less free because her parents made a decision to make her a child star, and created a “good girl” image for her that she might never have wanted. The media then constrained her to that image and today lampoons her for rejecting it, as she did when she ripped apart the teddy bear, that symbol of childhood and innocence, at the beginning of her VMA performance.
famous, and her actions are not necessarily about trying to antagonise or provoke the general public. Pictured nude on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine recently, Cyrus stuck her tongue out at the world – she doesn’t care what you think. You are partly responsible for this new image because you watched Hannah Montana and you believed in the character but forgot that
“
The Hannah Montana identity engulfed Cyrus in a way that she could never have foreseen as a child. The alter-ego was not a creation of her own imagination and yet she was forced to become it, even though it was never “her”
The reality is that Miley Cyrus today is no longer a child but a young woman exploring her sexuality, as all young people do. The difference is that her experiences – including her mistakes and her desires – are necessarily viewed and scrutinised by the public, who do not want her to grow up. Does Cyrus owe a duty to her fans? Must she forever remain true to the good girl Hannah Montana because we want her to? Not really. The Hannah Montana identity engulfed Cyrus in a way that she could never have foreseen as a child. The alter-ego was not a creation of her own imagination and yet she was forced to become it, even though it was never “her”. What we are seeing at the moment is Cyrus’ attempt to break free from that restrictive and probably suffocating identity, and a simultaneous search for her own sense of self – and even if that self is provocative, sexual and daring, we should not reject it out of hand. The VMA performance showed that Cyrus was perhaps not yet mature enough to celebrate her sexuality in the way that Madonna and others have done before her. Yes, we should criticise her routine, but we should criticise it because she sang terribly and failed as an artist but not, as some would suggest, as a woman or as a role-model. The ‘Wrecking Ball’ video has become the latest controversy to shake the Cyrus world. A 40-year-old man writing in The Guardian claimed that the video says young women must be sexually available in order to succeed, but this is an exceptionally narrow and reductive stance to take on the subject. Rihanna is naked in the video for Stay and Lady Gaga in many of her music videos. So why are we so critical of Cyrus for following the same path? Once a good girl, always a good girl? That is a particularly damaging perspective because it suggests that “good girls” should not explore the sexual aspect of their personalities, and that to do so will result in ruination and damnation. The good girl becomes “disgusting”, becomes “damaged goods” once she begins to access and understand her own sexual identity. This is an outdated view of female sexuality and is detrimental in a modern environment where women should be encouraged to take control of their sexuality and their sexual identity instead of being subservient to the sexual needs and desires of men. Are we so conservative that we fear the sexual assertiveness of young women? The ‘Wrecking Ball’ video is tastefully done, and when I watched it I couldn’t help but think that Miley Cyrus is beautiful. The video is a celebration of female sexual identity, it glorifies the female body from a female, rather than a male, perspective (as was the case in the heavily criticised Blurred Lines video), and it is a graceful peak to the exploration of self that began with her flesh-coloured bikini and teddy-bear twerking several months ago. Newspapers are rife at the moment with claims that Miley was a good singer who did not need to sink to such inappropriate behaviour to secure her fame. To think in this manner is to woefully miss the point. Miley Cyrus is already
32
Motley
there was a real person hiding in there. Finally, telling the world that Cyrus should not have followed the same depraved path as singers such as the previously mentioned Lady Gaga (I focus on her because she was the example most frequently used by journalists discussing Cyrus’ VMA performance), we say admit something uncomfortable about the way that we view women in the media in general. Lady Gaga is a good performer too, but she is tainted by her sexual image. Should she be? As a successful and talented woman, she should be free to make these choices without our judgment and disdain. When we criticise Miley Cyrus for this series of courageous statements, we fail to recognise that we ourselves probably made mistakes when we were growing up too. We are slut shaming her for trying to connect with her sexual identity and we are saying that it’s wrong to do that. We forget that her music is still good, and if we loved Hannah Montana for her voice then we should love Miley for hers too.
FASHION Making It Up: The Smokey Eye In this installment, Fashion & Beauty Editor Laurence Keating shows you how to get the elusive Smokey Eye
A
s a makeup artist, there is not a single look I am more frequently asked to create than the smokey eye. There is something transcendent, at least in the fickle trend based world of fashion and beauty, about the soft gradation from light to dark shadows on the eye. Something that can, essentially, be adapted to any one’s tastes, this look has rarely been “out” and has been seen on practically every model/singer/actress for the last 20 years, at least once every other event or premiere. While a tricky thing to pull off correctly on first attempt, it’s actually incredibly easy once you get the hang of it, and as I said, can be adapted or changed to suit your mood! Taking two huge trends from the A/W 13 catwalks and merging them together is a great way to update this look. Mixing the “cat eye” look with the traditional smokey eye to give drama as well as elongation and definition is a fantastic way to add a modern twist to both looks.
To begin with, you’ll need an eyeshadow primer and Urban Decay’s Primer Potion (Debenhams) is still the best. Urban Decay has a few lightly tinted options available, but most people get best usage from the original. Begin by smoothing a small amount over the entire eye area (yes even up to the brow!) making sure the product is distributed evenly. The next step is dependent on which colour smokey eye y o u ’ r e going for but you’ll basically need 3 shades of whichever colour you choose; a light, a medium and a dark. Rimmel London have, as with most drugstore brands, been making massive strides with their products over the last few years and their Scandaleyes Pencils (Pharmacies nationwide) are fantastic.
For this article, we’ll cover the classic black smokey eye, so begin by lining the eyelid, close to the lash line, going from a thicker line on the outer corner, to a thin line that ends 2 thirds of the way in (meaning do not take it all the way into the tear duct area) quickly smudge this shadow with your finger, a q-tip or a pencil brush (MAC’s 219 is fantastic) and a little bit of black shadow , I l l a m a s q u a’s Obsidian is one of the best on the market (Illamasqua.com, Debenhams.ie), to create a diffused line upwards towards the crease and very slightly winged outwards and upwards from the outer corner of the eye. Taking a black gel or liquid liner (Maybelline has amazing versions of both) line the very base of the lashes working from the outer corner inwards tapering to a thin line as before. Taking a small amount of your black shadow, line beneath the lower lash line, two thirds of the way in. You should now have a smokey yet defined cat eye that will lift and elongate the eye! To take the look from day to night, or from night to slightly more dramatic night, add a shimmery white or silver pigment (Barry M has amazing pigments and glitters) to the inner eye and very lightly on the brow bone and apply a pair of false lashes or several individual lashes if you feel your hand is steady enough!
Hope that helps and remember if you try out the look make sure to hashtag your pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #MotleyFashion
Motley
33
FASHION Versace Lorraine Buckley While Gianni Versace was growing up in Reggio Calabria in Italy, he acquired many skills from his mother who ran a small tailor-shop. Versace showed much interest in his mother’s career, observing her work. He soon began to design clothing himself which was sold in the tailor-shop. In 1972, he began designing for Fiori Fiorentini, an italian company allowing him to demonstrate his skills. Versace created and introduced his own line Complice in 1974. Even though he was not yet working under his own name, he had created his own label which consisted of a leather collection. This collection made him unique as few designers used leather at the time. Versace’s first boutique was opened in 1978 in Milan and sold other labels along with their own collections. Gianni’s style soon proved very popular and boutiques began to open globally. In 1997, Versace was killed in front of his home in Miami. His killer was purportedly a serial killer, who committed suicide soon after the murder took place. Gianni’s sister Donatella
“I think it’s the responsibility of a designer to try to break rules and barriers” - Gianni Versace Versace was then made the head of design. The House of Versace had always encapsulated exaggerated glamour. This has stayed somewhat consistent throughout the years. Donatella has however, toned down Versace’s depraved over-thetop party look in current seasons. While there’s a slightly more innocent new polish to the style, it remains to be a label that’s known for its cutdown-to-there and slit-up-to-here camera ready qualities.
Marita Maloney It’s no secret that fashion regards nostalgia with high esteem, and this season it paid homage to the anti-establishment 1970s punk movement by bringing all things rebellious and grunge back into the sartorial spotlight. The Spring/Summer collections showed hints of a revival of this trend, but for winter the designers threw themselves into the modern-era of punk pin-up, transforming this youthful street culture to couture. Anarchy was rife on the catwalks; models stomped the runways in tattered biker boots, bound in PVC and intimidated in studs, spikes and zips, paired with excessive kohl eyeliner and a “hell hath no fury” air. The Scottish Highlands also made their presence felt; their native cloth was inescapable as tartan reigned supreme in the form of dresses, kilts and shirts. From Alexander McQueen to Zadig & Voltaire anti-conformity prevailed, and this has inevitably trickled down to the high street with Topshop and ASOS in particular leading a Doc Marten-clad foot forward.
lifestyle favoured by a Mohawk- sporting, piercing and tattoo-bearing crowd soon propelled itself en masse and defined a decade. This can largely be attributed to the eccentric genius of Vivienne Westwood and her then partner, Malcom McLaren, who were the innovative powerhouse of punk purveyors in bringing this underground trend to the fore. Their signature piece was the humble t-shirt, emblazoned with controversial political slogans or motifs, such as swastikas and portraits of Joseph Stalin, and sold from their shop, “Sex.” This unconventional name also reflects on the era, as fishnet tights, spiked jewellery and safety pins were commonplace, as attributed to the highly influential BDSM scene.
The resurgence of the rebel can be largely attributed to the recent Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s exhibition “Punk: Chaos to Couture.” This exhibit, which displayed more than 30 designers, including Christopher Kane and Givenchy is a testament to punk’s unequivocal power to shock, inspire and make an impact, a statement concurred by Andrew Bolton, its curator, in saying that “no other counter-cultural movement has had a greater influence on fashion.” What’s particularly captivating are the origins of punk in the 1970s and how what began as a radical
Punk continued to gather pace in the 1980s, and evolved in Britain and the US to an aggressive amalgamation of military boots, tartan, leather and chains, while still upholding the aesthetic of the preceding decade. Women’s’ style became more
Motley
Donatella Versace has taken criticism with a positive and open mind about her label. Sources have described the label as tacky to which she responded with a simple “never mind”. It doesn’t bother her if a person dislikes her designs once there is some opinion either way. “It would be very easy for us to do a collection that everybody would like and not criticize. But criticism is a part of life. You have to take it”, she stressed.
Rebel Without a Cause
34
While heavy metal T-shirts are usually associated with sweaty rockers, Donatella Versace promoted them in the Spring/Summer 2014 show. With sex appeal and music always principal concepts within the label, this season introduced a rock edge. She made it clear that the designs are “a rock chick Versace woman”. Donatella understands that while women may not exactly want to attend grubby rock concerts, they certainly admire the look when it’s made glamorous. She stated: “I’m elevating street items to the luxury world.”
androgynous, Mohawks grew increasingly taller and slogans on t-shirts captured the rebellion of the time with aplomb. Then came the 90s, where the grunge outburst which had taken over Seattle at the end of the 80s exploded onto the world stage and firmly marked its place as a perennial fashion favourite. Bands like Nirvana, in a uniform of flannel shirts and ripped jeans, as well as designers such as Marc Jacobs, who created looks that appeared as if they had come straight from a thrift shop, pioneered the grunge revolution which lives on today. The rebel trend this winter is a combination of the history of these three decades, yet with a modern spin, an approach which is very welcome if we are to attempt pulling off this style without looking like a try-hard or Courtney Love. So if dog collars or Nazi slogans aren’t your thing then balance is key; biker boots and leather jackets paired with dainty dresses, or an outfit teamed with one item of plaid can make this trend very accessible. So channel your inner punk rocker with the confidence and renegade attitude that would make even Dame Vivienne proud.
FASHION
Is Vanity Vague?
Fashion & Beauty Editor Laurence Keating talks to Cork’s newest Modelling Agency about what beauty needs to them
T
he cork fashion scene has been blossoming over the last few years, in no small part due to the tireless efforts and dedication of the, now, major players. This month marks what is gearing up to be an amazing Cork Fashion Week as well as the Huguenot Quarter Party on October 17th not to mention the launch of a brand new model agency, Vanity Vague. The brain child of Laura Kenneally and Charlotte Armstrong, Vanity Vague aims to offer the first professional alternative model agency in the country. While t h e co-founders are quick to stress that “alternative” is merely a state of mind, they strive to source models with a distinctive look and attitude. “We’re looking to work with men and women with a strong sense of style, self and confidence. While the standard of models available in the country at the moment is second to none, we’ve recognised that there was a gap in the market for people with tattoos, piercings and even just “unusually” coloured hair, but at the same time major international companies are using exactly these kinds of models more and more in their campaigns” s a y s co-founder Kenneally. A cursory glance at Va n i t y Va g u e ’s roster reveals an incredibly d i v e r s e collection of models, yet one is struck by the professionalism and scope the
company already has on offer. Armstrong adds “While both of us have an interest and involvement in tattoo culture, Laura has a background in styling and merchandising and I’ve been working in makeup for a long time now so this really has become a natural progression and a labour of love, so to speak, for both of us” Kenneally states. The agencies name stems from a conversation the cofo u n de rs had regarding beauty and it’s connotations “It basically came from a conversation we were having about beauty and vanity and about how they are both so vague nowadays; no one thing can really define beauty, so the idea of a kind of vague vanity became really intriguing.” Top on the list of this promising concept is nurturing new talent while pushing the boundaries of what modelling in Ireland is today, thrilled with the models they have signed currently, the agency seeks to build upon their exciting beginning with a “Quality not Quantity” approach. “It’s really about fostering and promoting confidence in people, whether that be with our fantastic models or, hopefully, the people we can reach through our work. Kenneally adds. To celebrate the company, a launch night has been planned for November 30th and is shaping up to be an amazing event by all accounts. To keep up to date with this and all Vanity Vague events, and if you are interested in modelling for Vanity Vague, you can get in contact with Laura and Charlotte via their Facebook page Vanity Vague Model Agency Be sure to check out this month’s Fashion Story featuring two of their models.
Motley
35
Vanity Vague
36
Motley
Cardigan: Vintage Belt: Make-Up Artist’s own Leather Bag: TOPSHOP Boots: Model’s own
Dark Blue Jacket: TOPSHOP Skirt and Boots: Modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own
Motley
37
Sweater: Amity Cork Skirt: TOPSHOP
38
Motley
Robert: Vintage Jacket and T Shirt, own jeans and boots Ciara: As before
Photographer: Anuzis Photography Fashion, Styling and Male Grooming: Laurence Keating Ciaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s makeup: Sarah Jane Curtin for Vanity Vague Model Agency Models: Ciara Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Gorman and Robert McGillicuddy at Vanity Vague Model Agency 39 Motley
UCC’S OFFICIAL CLUBBING VENUE
40
Motley